When Past and Present Collide
by grnfield
Summary: Even the strongest of us sometimes need the help and support of a loving family. This was originally started for the TIWF 'Uncovered' challenge but it ended up going off on a complete tangent and went way, way over the word limit.
1. Chapter 1

When Past and Present Collide by Emma Nisbet (grnfield).

This was originally started for the TIWF 'Uncovered' challenge but it ended up going off on a complete tangent and went way over the 10,000 word limit (way, way over!)

Be warned that there are some gory parts (in a medical context) but nothing bad enough to push it into the mature section.

This is set in a different universe to my story "A Tracy by Any Other Name" and my usual disclaimer applies: if you recognise anyone the chances are they were thought up and developed by Gerry Anderson. If you don't recognise them then they are probably mine!

~#~

It was the sort of rescue that everyone dreaded. As occasionally happened, fog had caused an accident on one of the busiest highways in the US and eighty three cars had been involved by the time anyone thought to call in International Rescue.

Scott, as usual, arrived first. He flew in above the level where many of the police and rescue helicopters were hovering over the crash and located a field nearby which was big enough to hold both Thunderbirds 1 and 2.

He landed gently and radioed back to Virgil to 'step on it'. Virgil confirmed that he was well underway so Scott cut the connection and concentrated on getting Mobile Control unpacked and set up.

Once that was done he threw some flare markers onto the field to signal Virgil's landing spot and went out to join the chaos up on the roadway.

~#~

Virgil landed safely, made contact with Scott, then unloaded the Firefly and trundled away towards the front of the accident to where several large trucks were well ablaze.

Gordon and Alan jumped onto hoverbikes and went off in opposite directions in order to offer help and hope to as many people as possible.

Over the years, the boys had discovered that their presence alone was often enough to bring a sense of calm to many people on a rescue site. People, both rescuees and rescuers, spotted International Rescue's distinctive blue uniforms and calm demeanours and assumed that all their problems were over. Obviously this often tended to be far from the truth because the people were still in whatever peril they had found themselves in but if the sight of an International Rescue crew member could reduce the stress, and blood pressures, of some of those teetering at the end of their lifelines then that could only be a good thing.

~#~

Scott had made himself known to the local fire-fighters and was working his way, car by car, down a dark and dimly lit section of the freeway. Many of the streetlamps had been destroyed in the crash and the helicopters were far enough away that the light in the area could, at best, be described as dusky.

The pilot carried a powerful lamp and led a small team of volunteers down the crush of cars. They were entering each car in turn and offering help, blankets, water and reassurance to the poor souls trapped inside. Those not-too severely injured were being helped from their vehicles, either to join with the helpers or to aid in keeping those still trapped calm as comfortable as possible.

The rescue effort dragged on and over time, Scott's usually-pristine uniform became peppered with dirt and grime. He slipped and stumbled as he tired but refused to give up while there was the possibility of anyone still being trapped. He spied a small red station wagon which had become wedged beneath the trailer of an eighteen-wheeler truck and walked cautiously towards it.

A pale face from inside the car turned and watched his approach. Scott's eye caught the movement and he offered a small smile of support.

He eventually reached the vehicle and crouched beside it. "Hey," he murmured softly thought the broken window. "My name's Scott and I'm here to help."

"Lilly," the young woman responded. "…and the little guy in the back there is Jordan."

Scott craned his head around and looked into the back of the car. A red-haired, red-faced child of about two years old was fast asleep, strapped tightly into his seat in the passenger side of the vehicle. "Has he been awake at all?" he asked quietly. "…and if he was, did he seem like he was hurt?"

Lilly let out a gentle sigh. "He seemed OK, just absolutely terrified. He was awake for a while but screamed himself to sleep just a few minutes before you appeared."

Scott nodded. "And how about you? Are you in any pain?"

Lilly lifted her hand and rested it on her stomach which was wedged against the steering wheel. "_We_," she said softly, "Aren't doing all that well, I'm afraid. I'm completely pinned but I can't feel anything below my waist which I'm not taking as a good sign. Adam…well he's upset. He doesn't like this position and I think the wheel might be pressing on him. I _can_ still feel him moving around though."

Scott's gaze followed the movement of Lilly's hand and his eyes opened wide as he took in the meaning of her words. "How far along?" he whispered. "Lilly, how far along are you?"

"Thirty six weeks," she replied. "Only another month to go. This was to be our last big outing before Adam arrived. It was supposed to be a special treat for Jordan before he became a big brother. He's been excited about the baby but I wanted to do something special, just him and me, before Adam came."

Scott nodded. "I can understand that," he murmured. "I've been through it a few times myself."

"You have children?" Lilly asked. "I bet you're a great dad, too. You have gentle eyes."

Scott blinked at this and then shook his head. "I didn't mean that," he replied. "I mean that I'm a big brother…four times over."

"There are five of you?" Lilly said softly. "I always wanted two and that's what I've got. Five? Wow, your Mom must have been Superwoman."

Lilly's words bit Scott deeply and he swallowed hard. Taking a moment to compose himself again he looked skyward only to have to turn away when a helicopter flew overhead and dropped its light beam directly onto him. "The cavalry have arrived," he announced. "The medics should be following the chopper so you'll be out of here soon. Don't be surprised if little Adam makes his appearance somewhat sooner than you may have originally planned though. It's not uncommon for something like this to push a woman into early labour. He'll be fine though, as I said, the medics are on their way."

Lilly smiled gently and stroked the top of her stomach. "Thanks," she said wryly and then looked passed Scott to where a white-haired man was approaching. "A cavalry of one," she murmured. "Better than nothing I suppose."

Scott turned and saw a man picking his way carefully towards them. He walked out to meet the man and held his hand out in greeting. "Scott."

"Doctor Turvey," the man replied, returning Scott's handshake. "We're a bit thin on the ground back there so I'm 'it' for now. What have we got?"

"Male, approximately two years of age," Scott began. "Apparently unharmed but very scared and currently asleep. Female, mid to late twenties, thirty six weeks gestation, pinned in the front seat and suffering from total loss of sensation from the waist down. Foetus is active but mother reports that he seems to be in some discomfort."

The doctor nodded. "OK. Well, thirty six weeks isn't too bad. I've delivered earlier but hopefully it won't come to that. This isn't the best of places to be brought into the world."

Scott looked around and shuddered. "No," he agreed. "It certainly isn't. Mother seems stable for now but I'm worried what we'll find when we try to move her."

The doctor nodded again and then stepped past Scott and crouched beside the car. "Derek Turvey, medical doctor, at your service," he said softly. "We're going to see what we can do about getting you out of here pretty soon. Does that sound good to you?"

Lilly nodded. "Sure does, Doc. Hey, where's he off to?"

The doctor turned to see Scott scrambling up the cab of the eighteen-wheeler. He wrenched the door open, leant inside for a moment and then leant back out and shook his head to let the doctor know that the trucker hadn't survived.

As carefully as he could, Scott pulled himself up and over the trucker's body and returned shortly afterwards with a tool box, tire iron and a crow bar.

He dropped back to the floor beside the truck and then paced slowly back towards the station wagon where he dropped everything on the floor beside the driver's door. "Not perfect," he announced. "But it'll have to do. Let's have a go at opening your door first, then we'll see what we can do about getting you out of there."

Scott attempted to open the door in the usual way but found that it was tightly jammed against the other bodywork and resorted to levering it open with the crowbar. With a show of brute force, and the precipitous use of his boot, he managed to bend the door backwards, snapped it off its hinges and threw it off to one side out of the way.

Once the door was out of the way, Scott grabbed his lamp, aimed it into the car's footwell and stepped back to allow the doctor to take a look. From the brief glimpse, the pilot had seen that Lilly's legs were badly crushed and realised that it was highly likely that the young mother would never walk again.

He took a quiet look into the back of the car to find that Jordan was, mercifully, still asleep. The tot had exhausted himself so completely with his earlier screaming fit that Scott hadn't disturbed him while removing the door. The pilot smiled tightly and then looked out across the wreckage and realised that someone was walking towards him.

"You look like you're in need of some help over here," the fire-fighter, a strapping, well-built African-American, commented as he pulled up beside the car. "There's another two guys on the way; they'll be here in a minute." He walked around to where the doctor was working on Lilly and whistled under his breath. "Me and the guys'll get you out of there, Missy," he said loudly. "Don't you worry about anything. We've got a veritable city of tents and wagons set up back down the road there. We've even got our very own hospital, complete with operating theatre and everything. We'll get you and that big ol' bump of yours back there and before you know it you'll be tucked up safe in a soft, warm hospital bed. Does that sound like a plan?"

Lilly smiled at the fire-fighter's words. "Soft and warm sounds real like a real good plan," she whispered. "But someone will need to watch Jordan until my husband gets here. He's a good boy but he's in no doubt as to where his feet are and he'll be off before you notice if something scares him."

The fire-fighter nodded. "Me an' the boys can do that for you, Missy." He looked past Lilly, into the back of the car and grinned. "Well, well, we've got ourselves a feisty little red-head, have we? He sure looks like fun. We'll keep him safe for you, all little boys love finding their ways round a fire truck."

Lilly nodded this time and then winced as something the doctor was doing caused a sharp stab of pain to run through her entire body. "Ow," she said feebly. "If you could refrain from doing that again, I'd be really grateful." She turned back to the fire-fighter. "The name's Lilly, by the way, not Missy."

"Nice to meet you Missy Lilly," the fire-fighter responded with a grin. "The name's Errol but only my Mama calls me that. Everyone else calls me Charlie."

Lilly tried to smile but it came out as a grimace when another sharp pain ran through her. "Well, Charlie, I'd say it was a pleasure but…agh…maybe we'll save that for later." Lilly sucked in a ragged breath as the doctor pressed gently on her lower abdomen and then gasped when she noticed his hand came away coated in dark crimson blood. "God," she hissed. "What's happening?"

The doctor looked grim. "We need to get you out of there…and fast," he announced. "You're losing blood from the lower left quadrant of your abdomen, as well as from both legs and I need to get you out so I can get down there and tie…or clamp everything off. Hopefully the baby will decide to stay put long enough to get you back to the temporary hospital but if not…well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to that. Your men…" he turned towards Charlie. "…they're medic trained…and provisioned?"

Charlie nodded. "Blake," he yelled and then turned and yelled back down the road. "Get moving with that bag. Like NOW."

Blake and another man who introduced himself as Steve, approached at a run and skidded to a halt in front of Charlie. Blake hefted the equipment bag at Charlie who put it down, opened it and pulled out a large tarpaulin sheet. He spread this on the ground a few feet from the car and then nudged the bag towards the doctor. Turvey nodded gently and placed it to one side of the tarp before squatting down beside Lilly who was becoming paler by the minute. "These men will get you out," he said softly. "…and I'll do what I can for you and the baby. I…I can't make any guarantees, only that I'll do what I can. Scott, can you watch the boy while we try to extricate his mother?"

Scott, who had been standing back while the discussion between the fire-fighters and the doctor had been taking place, stepped forward and nodded while Lilly smiled at him. "He can do that," she told the doctor faintly. "He has four little brothers. He…he…he's a pro."

Lilly's eyes rolled backwards for a moment before she forced herself awake again. "S…Scott," she stuttered. "Look…look after Jordan. Pleeease…lllook after J-j-ordan."


	2. Chapter 2

~#~ (Chapter 2)

Lilly lost her grip on consciousness and Scott found himself being pushed aside as the doctor, Charlie and Blake surged forwards. The commotion in the front of the car and the loud, shouted orders between the doctor and the fire-fighters disturbed the little red-head in the back and very soon he began to wail.

Scott hurried around, opened the rear passenger door and carefully extricated Jordan from his seat. Not knowing what else to do but wanting to keep an eye on Lilly, Scott then wandered back around to where the heavily pregnant and blood soaked woman had been laid on the tarpaulin.

With a tearful Jordan clasped against his chest, Scott watched as the doctor clamped one blood-spurting artery after another. The longer he watched, the more Scott realised that Derek was fighting a losing battle. Lilly suddenly let out a gasp and one of the fire-fighters, Scott thought it might have been Steve, yelled out that he'd lost her pulse. He started CPR and continued for several minutes until the doctor sat back on his haunches. "This is hopeless," he announced. "We're not getting her back now. There's just too much damage. I'm afraid she's gone."

Steve paused CPR for a moment but the doctor waved him to continue. "No," he whispered. "Don't stop. There's no hope for this poor girl but there may…and I mean may, be the smallest hope for the little one. I need the sharpest scalpel you've got."

Charlie tipped the contents of the medical bag out onto the ground in front of Derek. He grabbed a sterile-sealed scalpel, unwrapped it and pressed the handle into the doctor's hand. "There's no point," he murmured. "She's dead. You said it yourself and if the mother's dead then the baby will be too."

Derek shook his head. "Not necessarily," he replied. "I'll understand if you don't want to watch but please, if you could just hold her steady and let me work."

The little boy in Scott's arms had finally fallen quiet and the pilot stepped backwards slightly and rocked him gently. He watched the goings-on on the tarpaulin and frowned as the doctor sliced through Lilly's remaining clothes and exposed the whole of her swollen belly.

Charlie turned slightly green and looked away when the doctor made the first incision in the young woman's stomach. Unlike what the young man had been expecting, Derek wasn't opening her up using a normal caesarean cut but was slicing her open laterally, from above her tummy-button down to her to bikini line. Scott grimaced and caught Charlie's eye as the fire-fighter averted his eyes from what was going on beside him.

The doctor manipulated Blake's hands and forced him to pull the two halves of Lilly's belly apart; he then reached in and pulled out the still, slimy, blood covered form of baby Adam.

Scott started to sway as soon as the baby's butt, legs and back began to emerge from inside his mother and the pilot was frightened to find his vision whiting-out. On legs which felt like they had the consistency of jelly, he struggled over to the car and opened the door. He dropped Jordan onto the back seat, closed the door again and then collapsed.

Luckily Charlie had seen him struggle away. He watched for a moment as the doctor struggled to get Adam breathing and then joined his fellow fire-fighters in giving a cheer when the baby let out a loud, angry-sounding squeal. Derek quickly checked Adam over, wrapped him in his coat and then handed him to Blake to hold. He moved up to where Steve was crouching, stilled the young man's CPR efforts and then gently closed Lilly's eyes. "You did good," he murmured. "You kept her body alive long enough to give that little boy a chance. Without you, he'd have died with his mother."

Steve closed his eyes, exhaled noisily and then nodded. "Thanks Doc. Blake, Charlie, you OK?" He looked around briefly and then frowned. "What happened there?" he asked, nodding towards Scott's motionless form beside the car.

Charlie followed his gaze. "I don't think he had the stomach for it," he replied quietly. "He was swaying badly and just managed to get the boy dumped back in the car before he keeled over."

Derek scrambled to his feet and hurried towards Scott who had fallen onto his side with his back resting against the car's rear door. He waggled his fingers at Jordan, who had stood himself up on the car seat and was slapping at the window to make someone take notice of him. The doctor turned back towards the others. "Cover her up," he requested. "The boy may be young enough not to remember but doesn't need to see her like that. When you're done, one of you come and get him out."

Charlie and Steve set about wrapping Lilly's body in the tarpaulin while Blake sat cradling baby Adam. Derek squatted down beside Scott and gently felt for a pulse. Finding it weak but rather faster than he'd have liked, the doctor then rested his hand on Scott's clammy forehead. "Classic shock symptoms, my friend," he said softly. "I shouldn't really be surprised but…well, I am. I would have thought you International Rescue types would have a strong enough constitution to be able to watch a baby coming into this world…even if that particular delivery was a little…unorthodox

He gently tapped at Scott's face but the pilot remained oblivious to the world around him. A worried looking Steve appeared beside him. "Can't you wake him?" he asked.

Derek shook his head. "Not obviously," he replied. "I could probably force him awake if I needed to but that would do no-one any good. He seems OK. Pulse fast but weak, breathing fine. He'll come back to us in his own time. Are you done with the mother?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "We radio'd and someone will be along to collect her soon. Sounds like most of the vehicles have been checked now and triage is pretty much complete. Do we need an ambulance for this one or are we going to take him back on the truck?" Steve pointed back down the road to where the roof of the large red fire-truck could be seen. "I can be there and back with a stretcher before you know it."

Derek looked in the direction Steve had pointed. "That might not be a bad idea," he said slowly. "We'll get him back to the hospital and I'll keep an eye on him. We'll have to cover his uniform though; I'd imagine there are any number of…undesirables who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of his current state."

Steve nodded again and then chuckled when Jordan slapped the window above him. "Let's get him moved then we can get the little guy out again. I guess both of them are coming in the truck with us too. Charlie, come give us a hand over here."

Steve, Charlie and Derek gently lifted Scott from his slumped position beside the car. They laid him on the ground, cushioned his head on the now-empty medical bag and then Derek sat with him while Steve went off to fetch the stretcher. Charlie re-approached the car, scooped Jordan up into his arms and then went to sit with Blake. The little boy was undeniably upset and confused by the fact that his mother had disappeared but was somewhat pacified when the fire-fighters introduced him to his brother and promised that his Daddy would be there to collect them both soon.

~#~

Steve returned with the stretcher a couple of minutes later, arriving in the back of the ambulance which had been sent to collect Lilly. Charlie, Blake and the children set off towards the fire-truck, leaving Steve and Derek with the ambulance crew. Steve helped load Lilly into the ambulance while Derek and one of the paramedics got Scott strapped onto a stretcher and tucked a blanket up over his shoulders to cover his uniform.

The ambulance eventually drove away with Lilly's body. Steve and Derek picked Scott up, carried him the short distance to the fire-truck and then loaded him gently into the back of the cab with Blake and the two boys. Steve and Charlie climbed into the front of the cab and then picked their way towards the tented city where the makeshift hospital sat.


	3. Chapter 3

~#~ (Chapter 3)

Several hours later, Virgil stuck his head into the hospital tent. He looked around briefly and then disappeared again, only to return a moment later with a puzzled look on his face. This time he stepped fully inside the temporary building and looked around, eventually spotting someone filling in forms at a table tucked away in the farthest corner away from the door. He looked around again, cleared his throat to announce his presence and then stepped towards the table.

Derek looked up at Virgil's cough and rose to his feet. He smiled a greeting and held his hand out as the International Rescue agent approached him. Virgil shook his hand and then gasped as his eyes fell on the cot which had been tucked against the wall behind a hospital-type privacy shield. Scott was lying insensate on the bed and had a couple of thin blankets wrapped tightly around his body. His boots sat just under the foot of the bed and his uniform top and sash were missing.

Virgil hurried over to the cot and gingerly perched beside his brother. "It's no wonder we couldn't find him," he said quietly, noting the wires of a portable heart monitor snaking their way beneath Scott's clothing. "Pulse is a bit fast but not too bad, bearing in mind who we're talking about. What happened to him?"

The doctor smiled softly and crouched on the floor, level with Scott's head. "He had a syncopathic episode," he replied quietly. "That means…"

"I know what it means," Virgil interrupted sharply. "…but you're wrong. Scott doesn't faint. He just…doesn't. Never has and never will."

Derek shook his head sadly. "Everyone has their limits," he replied. "Even those of us with a cast iron constitution will eventually come across something that…upsets their sensitivities. It doesn't mean that you should think any less of him and for all we know it will never happen again."

A crinkle formed on Virgil's forehead and he leaned over to rest his hand on Scott's cheek. "I…we…no-one would think any less of him. It's…he's…" Virgil gave up with a shrug. "You still haven't told me what happened."

The doctor shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't. What took place today was...unusual, upsetting and…potentially disturbing, especially because Scott seemed to have developed something of a rapport with the young lady in question."

"Young lady?" Virgil asked. "That sounds more like Scott." He stopped and frowned again. "Something happened to her? She…she didn't make it?"

Derek shook his head again. "No, she didn't," he said softly. "I tried. Really I did but the damage…it was just too extensive. Her death doesn't appear to be what affected him though. From what the fire-fighters told me, he only started to struggle once I began to deliver her baby. The mother had passed on but I had asked for CPR to be continued to allow for the slightest of hopes that the baby might be delivered alive. Luckily fate was on his side and he arrived safely; albeit a little on the small side at just under 5lbs but that's to be expected at 36 weeks gestation. I heard, about thirty minutes ago, that he and his brother, who was travelling in the car with his mother, had been reunited with their father. It'll be hard work, bringing up two youngsters alone but it could have so, so easily been just the one of them that survived. That baby had a guardian angel looking out for him today and I thank the powers that be for letting him live."

The whole time Derek had been speaking, Virgil had been stroking Scott's face. The eldest Tracy boy remained steadfastly insentient but Virgil kept up the gentle massage in an attempt to at least let his brother know that he was finally back in Virgil's capable hands. He looked sadly across at Derek and frowned again. "I still don't fully understand," he admitted. "Sure, Scott would have been upset when the girl passed away, any one of us would; we're only human, after all. This one though…" Virgil smiled down at his brother. "…well, he's military, ex-Air Force and he's tough. He's not squeamish, he doesn't have a problem with blood, vomit or anything else that the human body can excrete and he certainly doesn't have any issues with assisting in the birthing of babies. Hell, he's delivered several himself…and single-handedly at that. No," Virgil paused and shook his head again. "…something else must have happened. Something wrong…different…way out of the ordinary. Tell me again, please. From the beginning. Tell me what happened, when it happened and _exactly_ what was said."

Derek nodded but went and fetched a coffee for himself and Virgil before he began. When he returned he retook his spot on the floor beside Scott's bed and quietly relayed everything he could remember from the moment he had walked up to the station wagon to the moment that Charlie told him that Scott had collapsed. Virgil looked thoughtfully at his brother, frowned and then shook his head. "I still don't understand," he admitted quietly. "…and Scott's not the best at talking about personal problems so he's unlikely to tell me what happened himself. Wake up and talk to me, Scotty. Please." Virgil's words had been getting softer and softer until his plea to Scott was barely audible.

Derek rested his hand on Virgil's shoulder, intending to offer the other man his support. Virgil hadn't expected the touch and startled badly, slopping a large amount of his now luke-warm coffee all over Scott's blankets.

"Damn it all to hell," the usually mild-mannered artist cursed, jumping to his feet. "Scotty, I need you up and awake. I don't need you lying here idling the day away. We're done now; everything's sorted and we can go home but I refuse to take you back in this state. Get your eyes open and your ass out of that bed. Now."

Derek raised his eyebrows and stood up. He pulled the soiled blankets from Scott's bed and paced around the privacy screen to grab a couple of clean ones. Unsettled by Virgil's reaction to a little spilt coffee, he quietly wrapped the clean blankets around Scott and tucked them tightly beneath his extremities. He smiled gently when the pilot's nose wrinkled slightly in response to the disturbance. "That's a positive sign," he said softly. "I'm taking that to mean that he'll be up and about again soon. It's more of a reaction than I've had from him for the past few hours; it's almost like he knows you're here now and that you're...upset."

Virgil screwed his nose up completely. "I'm not upset," he argued. "I might be later but now…now I think I'm more frustrated than upset. I…"

John chose that moment to call in and cut of his brother's tirade. "Thunderbird 5 calling Virgil. Thunderbird 5 calling Virgil. Come in please."

Virgil stared at his watch for a moment and then sucked in a deep breath and pressed the transmit button. "Virgil here. I've got him but he's unconscious. He has no obvious injuries and I have no real idea what happened. The doctor who brought him in was told that he was swaying before he collapsed and he's been showing all the classic signs of shock but I don't know why. I need you to contact Da…um…base and fill them in on the situation. Tell them I'll be in touch if anything changes but that Scott will be travelling back with me, no matter what. Oh and John, can you tell Alan to get One out of here. I need to make sure that _someone_ doesn't get any stupid ideas about flying himself home…when he finally wakes up."


	4. Chapter 4

~#~ (Chapter 4)

Scott's eyelids began to flutter about ten minutes later. Virgil, who had been pacing the floor of the makeshift hospital, sat back down on the side of the cot. "Come on Scott," he murmured encouragingly. "You can do it. Open up those eyes and show me you're alright."

Scott's nose wrinkled a little as he struggled to fully awaken but eventually he won the battle and his eyelids flickered open. He lay there for a moment, staring up at Virgil and then a crease formed on his forehead and he looked away. He scanned the tent in apparent confusion and eventually looked back at Virgil as his eyes flew open wide and the colour fell from his face.

Virgil realised what was happening and immediately reached out and grabbed a plastic tub which had previously held medical supplies. He hauled Scott over to the edge of the cot, held the tub beneath his mouth and held him steady as he lost his lunch and then most of his breakfast.

Derek heard the commotion and hurried towards the brothers with a bottle of water and another plastic tub. Scott vomited until there was nothing left to bring up and then flopped back onto the cot with an exhausted groan. Virgil smiled sadly at him and held out the bottle of water. Scott looked at it for a moment before taking it, cracking the plastic seal on the sports-cap and taking a tentative sip.

Scott had only taken another couple of tiny sips before he began retching again. Virgil rested a hand on his brother's shoulder and rubbed gently as the water made a reappearance. "Sorry," he said softly. "Maybe just one sip at a time would be safer for now."

Scott nodded and used Virgil's arm to pull himself upright. He patted his soft, white undershirt and looked around. "What happened to my uniform?"

Derek chose that moment to walk back in after rinsing out the vomit-filled tub. "That was me," he replied quietly. "I figured that you'd rather people didn't know that a member of International Rescue was in a less-than-perfect state and was worried that someone would try to take advantage. I was attempting to make you as inconspicuous as possible and the blue would have been a dead giveaway. You'll find your jacket and gun holster in the bag behind your boots which are beneath the bed. Your hat is there too but I've wrapped that separately as it was wet."

Scott nodded vaguely and took a small sip of water. He waited for a moment in case it came back up and breathed a gentle sigh of relief when it stayed put. "Thanks," he croaked. "I…well…thank you."

Derek nodded. "It's the least I could do," he replied. "International Rescue does so much for the world as a whole. You put yourselves at risk on a daily basis and for that I…and I'd hope, most other people, am very grateful. A case in point is that poor girl today; she was certainly grateful for your presence and entrusted her boy to you because she knew he would be safe. Ultimately we may not have managed to save her but Lilly's last minutes on this earth were filled with comfort and quiet conversation rather than pain and suffer..." Derek tailed off as Scott lost what little colour had returned to his face. The doctor hastily held the newly-rinsed tub back under the pilot's chin and tutted gently. "I'm sorry," he murmured as Scott retched pitifully into the tub. "That was thoughtless of me. Perhaps discussions about what happened today would be best avoided for the time being."

Scott nodded weakly and pushed the tub away. "I'd appreciate that," he replied quietly. "I…"

Scott's speech faltered as his stomach gurgled menacingly. He screwed his eyes up tightly and breathed slowly through his mouth in an attempt not to be sick again.

~#~

After a few minutes Scott cracked an eye open to discover that Virgil and Derek were watching him with matching, worried expressions on their faces. Scott leaned heavily against his brother and let out a quiet groan. "Virg," he whispered. "Should…should've asked you how it's going out there. The others, is everyone alright?"

Virgil smiled gently and nodded. "Everyone's fine," he replied reassuringly. "We would have been out of here if it wasn't for the fact that you'd gone missing. Gordon's hopefully waiting for us back at Two with everything loaded back into the pod and Alan…well, he should be more than half way home by now."

Scott frowned as he struggled to make sense of Virgil's words. "Oh," he said eventually. "That's…well that's probably for the best. I wouldn't want to ditch her part-way back."

Virgil shook his head. "No and I'd rather you didn't either. It took ten years off me when you went down in the Sahara and I don't fancy turning out greyer than Dad before my next birthday." Virgil gasped and looked hastily across at Derek in the hope that he hadn't caught his slip of the tongue.

Unfortunately for Virgil, Derek had picked up on his choice of words and nodded knowingly. "Don't worry," he told them. "No-one will get anything from me. My lips are sealed. You are my patient so anything I've heard today will automatically be covered under the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement. Your secret's safe with me."

Scott looked from the doctor to Virgil and back again. "Thanks," he whispered. "That means a lot." He looked at Virgil again. "Can you get my jacket," he asked. "I'm not stepping out of here half-dressed and I really want to get home."

Virgil gently pushed Scott upright and rested a hand on his arm until he was convinced his brother wasn't going to slump over again. He then moved slowly away, watching as Derek gently detached Scott from the heart monitor. He fetched the bag containing Scott's clothing, picked up his boots and deposited everything within easy reach of his brother.

Scott clumsily pushed his feet inside his boots before Virgil and Derek helped him back into his jacket and sash. Scott looked mournfully at his hat for a moment and then sighed and tucked it into his sash beside his gun. He let out a deep sigh and looked pensive when Virgil stood up and held out his hand.

"Ready to go home?" Virgil asked. "You riding shotgun with me or would you rather have Gordon watch you in the sickbay?"

"Gordon's in the sickbay?" Scott queried. "I thought you said…"

"I did," Virgil cut him off, swiping his arm at Scott in a brief chopping motion. "I said he was fine. I also said that he should have got everything packed up and ready to go. I only meant that you might be comfier in the sickbay where you could lie down rather than spending the journey propped up in one of the chairs in the cockpit. If you choose the sickbay option then I'm sending Gordon down to watch you as I'd rather you weren't unaccompanied at the moment."

Scott shrugged. "Gordon's going to be with me either way, isn't he? And I know how you hate it when people puke when you're flying."

"You're opting for the sickbay then?" Virgil asked uncertainly. "It's…well…usually you'll do anything to stay out of there. Are you sure?"

Scott rubbed his stomach and nodded. "I think that's safest. So yes, Virg, I'm sure."

Virgil held out his hand again and then changed his mind and withdrew it, leaving Scott looking confused. He leaned down, slid his arm beneath Scott's armpits and hauled his brother to his feet before he could object.

Scott swayed gently for a moment before finding his feet and then nodded at Derek. "Thank you," he said. "…for everything."

Derek nodded and walked the pair to the entrance. Once there, Scott extricated himself from Virgil's grasp and stood up straight. "No offence, Virg," he whispered. "…but I'd rather leave under my own power."

Virgil pressed his lips tightly together to refrain from replying. He simply nodded and stepped back slightly to give the impression that he was complying with his brother's wishes. Derek watched the interactions between the two and smiled. "I'd say 'So long and see you soon' but…well, no offence but I'd be happier if it didn't come to that. You two look after each other and just...keep up the good work."

Virgil smiled properly this time and shook the doctor's hand. Scott did the same and then stepped outside with Virgil hovering worriedly, just half a step behind him.

~#~

Gordon was attacking the bottom of the pod door with a broom when Virgil and Scott strode onto the field where Thunderbird 2 was parked. He quickly finished what he was doing, secured the broom back inside the pod and then stepped forward to meet them.

"Hey," he called softly. "You had us all worried for a while there. How are you feeling?"

Virgil opened his mouth to answer, only to find himself cut off when Scott held up a hand to stop him. "I'm OK, Gords," Scott murmured, leaning forwards and giving Gordon a gentle hug. "Got the mother of all headaches and wouldn't want to risk eating anything but…" He broke off and shrugged. "Are you going to come and keep me company in the sickbay?"

"I…" Gordon's mouth clicked shut with a snap and he looked past Scott to where Virgil was standing. "I am? He is? We are?"

Despite Gordon not asking a full question, Virgil understood him perfectly. "I suggested that Scott would be more comfortable on one of the beds," he explained. "Oh…and he's also worried about making a mess in the cockpit. Seems like he thinks it might…um…upset me."

Gordon chuckled and looked back at Scott who managed a small grin. "Come on," he whispered. "It's not often I get to play nursemaid to my biggest brother; it's usually the other way around."

Scott nodded vaguely and headed off into the pod. Gordon hung back and watched him go with a concerned look on his face. "Do we know what happened?" he asked. "…and is he really as OK as he's making out?"

Virgil shook his head. "Not really and no," he replied. "I don't know why he collapsed and I don't think he's OK. It's Scott though, he's stubborn and we're not going to find out, well…anything unless he wants us to. We're just going to have to watch, wait and cope with the fallout, as and when it happens."


	5. Chapter 5

~#~ (Chapter 5)

From the outside, Thunderbird 2's journey home looked quiet and routine. Inside, however, it was a different story entirely. Virgil took off as normal and headed toward the coast and the clearer, less monitored airways above the ocean. He radioed the island to give everyone there an update and then called back to the sick bay to check on the others.

Gordon told him that Scott had fallen asleep just a couple of minutes beforehand. "I should have brought a book," he quipped. "'Cos it's going to be a reeeally boring journey home, sitting in here with no-one to talk to."

"I'll leave the comms open if you want," Virgil replied with a chuckle. "Or you could just nap along with Scotty and I'll wake you when we're ready to land."

Gordon shook his head. "You need to concentrate," he objected. "…and I'm not tired, just…unstimulated. I...Oh shit. Gotta go. Bye, Virg."

Gordon disconnected without another word and Virgil was left staring at a small blank screen. The artist shook his head at his water-loving brother's sudden departure and directed the monitor to display the feed from the sickbay's security camera. It quickly became evident that Gordon's hasty departure had been necessitated by Scott's awakening.

Despite having virtually nothing left to bring up, Scott's body was still going through the motions and the pilot had woken in a panic. He had managed to flip over onto his side and lean over the side of the bed before he brought back what little water he'd consumed. Gordon forced an emesis basin beneath his chin, caught the stream of rancid-smelling bile which followed the water and then helped Scott over to another, cleaner bed once he had stopped retching.

Gordon placed a fresh emesis basin beside his brother and set about cleaning up. Scott sat miserably on the bed and silently watched him mop the floor.

~#~

After a few minutes, Gordon was done. He turned his back on Scott in order to put the cleaning equipment away and when he turned back he found that his brother had rested his elbows on his knees and had buried his face in his hands.

Gordon hesitated, just briefly, and then sat down beside Scott and wrapped his arms around him. He pulled an unresisting Scott against his chest and rocked him gently. "I spoke too soon," he told Scott quietly, not really expecting a reply but wanting to break the silence. "I'd just told Virgil that this was going to be the most boring journey in the history of boring journeys. I mean, who wants to just sit and watch you sleep? Boring, eh? I mean, I'm sure it'd be great watching some people sleep but you? Nah. You lie down, switch off and you're gone for the duration. You don't move, you don't snore, you don't do, well, anything…usually. You just decided to prove me wrong today, didn't you? Eh?"

Scott was getting heavy in Gordon's arms and the aquanaut realised that his brother was starting to drift off again. "OK," he murmured. "Well then, how about we discuss who we might like to watch sleep? Does that sound like a plan?" Scott remained silent but Gordon continued as if he'd spoken. "Great. We'll start with Alan. Obvious, yes, but he's always been fun to watch. You know he talks in his sleep, right? Well, it's amazing what you can get him to admit to if he thinks he's dreaming. Did you know he wanted to marry his teacher when he was back in second grade? He claimed that Mrs Stanways made the best cookies in the 'whole wide world' and that she always saved the 'biggest and bestest' ones for him. I don't know what Dad would have made of it if Alan would've asked to take her home. She was older than he was at the time!"

Gordon chuckled quietly to himself and placed a gentle kiss against Scott's hair. "He says some crazy things when he's asleep, does our Al. It was fun while it lasted but I'm glad I don't share with him full-time any more."

~#~

Virgil turned the volume on the intercom system down to minimum and then pressed a button. "Gords," he spoke quietly so as not to startle either brother. "Is he asleep?"

Gordon craned his head around in an attempt to look at Virgil in his watch. "No, Gords," Virgil tried again. "Not there…" He wiggled a joystick in the cockpit which made the camera in the sickbay move from side to side. "…up here."

Gordon caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and looked toward the camera. "How long have you been there?" he asked.

"Since you cut me off," Virgil replied honestly. "I didn't know what to think when you just disappeared like that. Anything could have been happening in there."

Gordon pursed his lips. "Sorry," he muttered. "It all went a bit nuts but hopefully that'll be the end of it for a while. I…Virg, do you think I jinxed it saying that I was going to be bored? Do you think I made him sick?"

Virgil chuckled and then sighed. "Of course you didn't," he replied. "That's just plain stupid, Gordon. You know that."

Gordon shrugged, mindful not to disturb his brother. "I know. It's just…"

"…bad timing," Virgil finished. "Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not going anywhere but will you be OK if I disappear for a few minutes? I want to call Dad and ask him to have Kyrano turn Scott's bed down ready for when we get back. There's no way Scott's going to put up with being forced into the sickroom and Brains and I can tend to him just as well in his own room. As to what happens about the debrief, we'll have to see how he is later. Dad might want…or need…to do him separately to the rest of us this time."

Gordon nodded. "OK," he replied quietly. "…but don't stay away too long. I know I said that I wanted you to concentrate on your flying before; I still do but…"

Virgil smiled sadly to himself. "I know, Gords. I had him earlier, remember? I had a long conversation with the doctor who picked him off the floor, while we were waiting for him to wake up. We talked about all sorts and some of the things really made me think.

"Like what?" Gordon asked. "Like why he's being so…so…un-Scott-like?"

Virgil nodded and then remembered that while he could see the sickbay, Gordon couldn't see him. "Maybe," he murmured. "He said something about everyone having their limits. He seemed to think that Scott had hit some sort of metaphorical wall and that his mind had simply shut down to protect him. At least I think that was what he meant. I got a little upset myself when he insinuated that we might think less of Scott because of what's happened."

Gordon pulled Scott tighter against his chest. "That's ridiculous," he hissed. "Whatever caused this, it's wasn't Scott's fault. How…Why…?"

"Don't," Virgil stopped him quietly. "He was trying to be nice it's just came out wrong because of who and what we are to one another. He didn't know, at that point, that we were related and it was more like he was looking out for Scott and trying to protect him against…well…us. Does that make sense?"

Gordon let out a chuff of breath. "Kind of," he replied. "At least, I get what you're trying to say. Look, I've got my head screwed on a bit better now. Do you want to go and talk to Dad while it's all quiet in here? Come back and tell me when you're done but I'll yell if I need you first. OK?"

"OK," Virgil agreed. "Take care, Gordy. I'll be as quick as I can."

~#~

Scott startled himself into partial wakefulness several times while Virgil was talking to Jeff. Gordon managed to keep him from waking completely by petting him, cuddling him and murmuring nonsense in his ear. By the time Virgil reappeared, the aquanaut had given up all pretence of formality, had clambered up onto the bed and was laid down on his side with a blanket-wrapped Scott tucked beneath his chin.

Virgil flicked the switch to reactivate the camera in the sickbay only to discover Gordon staring straight at him as if he had been trying to will the camera to do something. Gordon noticed the red light on the device begin to blink and immediately began talking. "He won't stay asleep," he cried softly. "Scott. He…he won't stay asleep. He drops off, at least he seems to but then it's like something scares him and he just can't bear to stay asleep. He sort of half-wakes but he's so done in that he can barely keep his eyes open. The blanket seems to help though; this is the longest he's been so far without waking."

Virgil frowned. "That can't be good," he replied. "…but I think having you wrapped around him is probably doing more good than the blanket. Apart from the obvious fact that you're warm and, dare I say it, cuddly, he'll know that you're safe and that'll be helping to keep him settled."

Gordon looked doubtful but nodded his head.

"You know what he's like, Gords," Virgil continued. "…he needs to know how and where we are at all times. He's not currently up to looking out for everyone but you're there and you're healthy so he's…well, happy's not the right word for it but you know what I'm getting at."

Gordon let out a quiet chuff of laughter. "That's me," he chuckled. "GT Bear, at your service."

"Cuddly Cooper," Virgil countered.

Gordon grinned. "I prefer 'cosy'," he replied. "Compassionate and Caring, Commander Cosy Cooper."

"You should probably add 'comfortable' to that list," Virgil pointed out. "Of course _I_ have no proof that you are but Scott seems to think so."

Gordon smiled and looked down at his sleeping brother. "That's true," he murmured. "He does seem pretty settled now." Gordon looked back up at the camera again. "I don't know if you can see from there but he's kind of clinging to my jacket. If he doesn't wake up and let me go then I don't think I'll be going anywhere for the foreseeable future."

Virgil sighed softly. "We'll be home soon," he replied. "…and then the real fun will start. Dad's agreed that we can take Scott straight to his room, if that's what he wants to do and has promised to keep Alan, Brains and everyone else out of our way until we give him the nod. If Scott's not in the mood for being sociable, which I doubt he will be, then we'll have to play it by ear. Someone, be that you, me, Dad or whoever, will have to stay within earshot of him at all times. Scott's not right, he's not himself and it's just plain not worth the risk if he's going to continue to have those vomiting spells."

Gordon shook his head and then leant down to brush his lips against Scott's hair in the gentlest of kisses. "No, it's not," he agreed. "Not worth the risk at all."


	6. Chapter 6

~#~ (Chapter 6)

As promised, Thunderbird 2's bay was deserted when the huge, green ship rolled to a halt. Virgil stood up, looked through the front windows and nodded approvingly. "Dad," he called after flicking one of the switches on Two's control panel. "We're down and safe. About to attempt operation Scott Shift. Wish me luck."

"Welcome back," Jeff's reply came clearly through the speakers in the control panel. "Keep me appris…let me know how you get on."

Virgil chuckled at Jeff's faltering speech. The Tracy patriarch had a tendency to forget to switch off his military side after a rescue, even more-so than his eldest son. Scott could be stuck in full-on military mode for days after a stressful mission and had a tendency to drive his brothers up the wall until someone managed to knock him back into off-duty mode. They had a number of ways of doing this, usually involving water and Scott had found himself immersed in the pool fully clothed, numerous times. "No problems, _Commander_," Virgil replied with a grin. "I'll _keep you apprised_ at all times." He paused and frowned at the screen where his father's face was being displayed. "You didn't wish me luck."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Good luck," he grinned. "I'd like to think you weren't going to need it but…well…"

Virgil tutted loudly. "Gee, Dad, thanks for the support. Don't stray too far from a terminal anyway, 'cos I'm not going to hesitate to scream if I need help."

~#~

Virgil walked into the sickbay to find Scott sitting upright beside Gordon, with the blanket hanging loosely over his shoulders. "Hey," he murmured. "Is it safe to ask how you're feeling?"

Scott rested his hand lightly on his stomach and sighed. "Sore," he replied. "Sore, achy and thoroughly embarrassed. Please tell me Alan doesn't know I passed out. I'll never live it down."

"That's only because you used to give him so much stick every time he passed out when he used to have those nose bleeds," Gordon pointed out. "It wasn't his fault and yet you seemed to make it your own personal mission to try and make him stay upright."

Virgil frowned. "It's just as well he grew out of that," he replied. "…both the nosebleeds and the fainting. He'd have been no good on a rescue if he couldn't handle the sight of his own blood." Virgil sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "He doesn't know you…um…passed out. Dad and Johnny know, of course, but as far as anyone else is aware you were taken ill during the rescue and weren't well enough to fly yourself back. Dad thought you'd probably appreciate being able to shower and to get into some clean clothes in peace so he's going to keep everyone at bay until you give him the word. After that…well, that's up to you."

Scott nodded vaguely. "OK," he rasped. "…but what I'd like more than anything is a drink. My throat feels like it's had a bottle brush down it."

"I'm not surprised," Gordon told him. "You've been upchucking for hours. I'm amazed you've got any stomach lining left, the way you've been trying to expel it."

Scott chuckled dryly. "Thanks, Gords, I feel sooo much better after hearing that. Your bedside manner stinks; you know that, don't you?"

Gordon adopted a look of mock hurt for a moment and then grinned. "Bedside, shmedside. It's in-bed that counts…and there's nothing wrong with my in-bed manners. I'm cuddly; just ask Virgil. Cuddly, comfortable and compassionate."

Virgil groaned. "Never start a word game with an aquanaut," he told Scott. "…especially if his name is Gordon and he spends too long deep in conversation with a bookworm called John. Hang on," Virgil stopped and turned his whole attention to Gordon. "Compassionate was yours, not mine. Cuddly was mine, comfortable was mine but compassionate? That was purely yours. Along with 'caring', 'cosy' and 'commander'."

Scott spluttered with indignation. "You were never a commander," he argued. "You can't just promote yourself. That's not how it works."

Gordon stuck his tongue out at his brothers. "I may not have been a commander but I _was_ in command," he grumbled. "I would have made commander if that stupid boat hadn't blown up on me. You know I would."

"We know that, Gords," Scott replied softly, wrapping an arm around the aquanaut and pulling him closer. "…but you don't need to worry because, ultimately, you've beaten commander. You're captain of your very own submarine and you control each and every one of International Rescue's seagoing vessels. You wouldn't have got that far, that fast if you'd stayed with the wasps. You probably wouldn't have had half as much fun, either."

Gordon grinned. "That's true," he agreed and then stopped and frowned. "Dad's boat's bigger than all of mine."

Scott locked eyes with Virgil and snorted. "Dad's bank account's bigger than all of yours," he pointed out. "…and you know as well as I do that Muriel had to be big enough for us all to fit in; now leave the man his pleasures and don't question him."

Gordon shrugged. "I know you said 'no questions' but I do still want to know why he called her Muriel. I didn't understand it when he picked her up and I still don't understand it now."

Scott shrugged and opened his mouth to speak again, only to find himself cut off by Virgil. "Scott, you're stalling for time. I get that and I understand why but we've really got to go. Dad's only going to be able to keep Alan and the others out of the way for so long. If we don't move soon then we stand a good chance of coming across someone on the way through the house."

Gordon elbowed Scott gently in the ribs. "Busted," he murmured. "You'd better go with him, Scotty. You know how he'll get if you don't."

Scott nodded. "You're coming with me. Aren't you?"

"Yes," Gordon replied. "…but I was intending to go via the kitchen to see if I could find Grandma. I was going to ask if she could make you some of that chamomile and mint tea. You know the stuff she always used to make that she claimed would settle even the worst of upset stomachs?"

Scott nodded again. "Thanks, Gords. You too, Virg; thank you."

Virgil smiled and held out his hand. "Come on, Scott," he said gently. "It's time to get out of here."

Scott grabbed Virgil's hand and pulled himself off the bed. He swayed for a very brief moment and then straightened up and flexed his knees before finally letting go of Virgil.

"You going to stay upright?" Gordon asked worriedly as he hopped off the bed and stood beside his brothers. "I'll go and see about that tea. You need to get at least something inside you, even if it's only a bit of fluid."

Virgil nodded his agreement and noted the tightening of the skin around Scott's eyes. "If that stays down for a bit then we can see about getting you some Tylenol. You've got a headache as it…"

Virgil's speech faltered when Gordon let out a surprised yelp and then froze. The aquanaut had started to walk past Scott and Virgil in order to leave the sickbay but had, very suddenly and unexpectedly, found his right bicep tightly pinned within the grasp of his eldest brother.

"Scott?" Gordon queried softly. "What's the matter?"

Scott had been looking at Virgil when he'd unthinkingly reached out and grabbed Gordon. He rotated his head slowly around until his gaze fell on his clenched hand and he frowned. Gordon felt the fingers on his arm twitch and flex several times and then Scott seemed to settle on just holding him. "I…Scotty, I'm trying to go and fetch your drink," he murmured. "You'll feel better once you keep something down and you'll feel better still when you have some of Virgil's tablets inside you. You heard him, he says that they'll fix your headache and make you right again."

It said a lot for Scott's state of mind that he didn't even raise an eyebrow about being spoken to in a way that was usually reserved solely for Alan. He stared at his hand in bemusement, frowned again and then looked up at Gordon, across to Virgil and finally settled his gaze back onto his hand again.

"Let him go, Scott," Virgil urged softly. "I won't pretend to understand what's going on but Gordon's going to need his arm back if he's to stand any chance of getting to the kitchen."

Gordon chuckled quietly and then winced when Scott's grip tightened against his arm. "Ow," he hissed. "Scott, what the hell? You're hurting me."

Scott shuddered violently and panted heavily as he slowly forced his hand to release its grip on Gordon. He clasped his forearm tightly against his chest to keep it away from his brother and let out an explosive breath. "Gords," he croaked. "I'm sorry…I…I'm…I…"

Virgil and Gordon moved simultaneously as Scott's knees buckled and his eyes rolled backwards into his head. The pair caught their eldest brother between them and gently lowered him to the ground. Virgil crouched beside him and checked his pulse and breathing. "I don't like this." The artist frowned as he spoke, "I don't like this at all. There's something going on with him but I just can't work out what." He stopped, sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Let's get him out of here. We'll load him onto a stretcher and put him to bed. If he wakes up in his own time and in his own room then…well…" Virgil shrugged expansively. "It can't do any harm anyway."

Gordon nodded and hurried over to the locker to fetch the stretcher. He set it on the floor beside Scott and between them, he and Virgil lifted their brother onto it. Virgil fastened a strap across Scott's chest while Gordon did the same across his thighs and once they were done they silently lifted him from the floor and carried him into the house.


	7. Chapter 7

~#~ (Chapter 7)

Gordon helped Virgil move Scott onto his bed and then went off to find Brains while Virgil changed their brother into a pair of soft cotton pyjama pants. He returned, almost ten minutes later, with both Brains and Jeff in tow and walked into the room to find Virgil sitting and staring, seemingly at nothing, on the chair beside Scott's bed.

The artist had stripped off his uniform and boots and was sitting in his undershirt and a pair of Scott's old grey sweatpants. He had one sock-clad foot resting on the edge of Scott's mattress and was thoughtfully tapping his chin with the index finger of his right hand. "If it wasn't Scott…and I didn't know any better, then I'd say he's suffering from some sort of post-traumatic issue," he said slowly without looking up. "What I can't explain is 'A'…why it's happened. And 'B'…what happened that made it…er…happen _today_?"

"And 'C'," Gordon added. "What made him grab me and try to crush the living whatsit's out of my arm?"

"Yeah," Virgil replied with a sad smile, finally looking up at and catching Gordon's eye. "There's that too but I'm not sure that even Scott could answer that one. Did you see his face when he realised what he'd done? I don't think he knew how, why or when he'd got hold of you and it was only when he was trying to process the fact that he had that he went down again."

Gordon shook his head. "Not strictly true," he disagreed. "He let me go before he crashed. If he'd have still had hold of me like he did then I'd have been on the floor with him."

Virgil nodded. "That's true." He looked at Scott and shrugged. "Brains, I know it may be a little early but I'd like to set him up with an IV. He's equivalently eaten and drunk nothing all day and admitted to having a headache which, bearing in mind this is Scott we're talking about, probably means it was just about unbearable."

Jeff let out a breathy chuckle and sat on the bed beside his eldest son. "If it'll make him more comfortable when he wakes up then I'm all for it. We know he won't voluntarily opt for one so maybe we need not to give him the choice."

Virgil looked across at Brains who nodded. "It'll do him some, ah, some good, even if it only stays there a...a…a short while."

The eldest Tracy boy was notoriously bad with IVs, usually fiddling with them continuously until he kinked, bent or broke something to necessitate its removal. Jeff chuckled again and leant down to stroke Scott's hair. "Do it," he said softly. "He won't like it but too bad."

Brains nodded and hurried away to collect the relevant equipment. He returned a couple of minutes later, hooked a bag of fluids on the shelf above Scott's bed and skilfully fitted the IV into the back of his hand. He stuck it down with a small piece of adhesive tape and then stuck an overly large and extra-sticky pad over the whole thing.

Gordon, who was sitting cross-legged on the polished wooden top of Scott's desk, snorted loudly. "That's truly evil," he crowed. "Ingenious but…evil."

Brains' eyes met Gordon's and grinned. "I've been waiting for an, ah, opportunity to test it," he replied. "By my reckoning it should survive at least a couple of, ah, hours."

Gordon nodded and noted that Jeff's eyes were twinkling even though his countenance looked grim. "Are you OK, Father?" he asked softly and held his hand out towards Jeff.

Jeff instinctively reached out and gave his hand a squeeze in reply. The contact was only brief due the awkward position it put Jeff in on the bed but it was enough to reassure Gordon. "I'm alright," his father replied. "I'm just worried about your brother, that's all. Brains, Virgil, is there anything else we could be doing for him?"

Virgil looked at Brains who shook his head. "Not really, Father. Other than watching him, all we can really do is sit here until he wakes up. We can do it in shifts so he won't be alone but I need to point out the obvious, that both Gordon and myself need to get properly cleaned up.

Gordon looked down at his grimy uniform and grimaced. "Yeah, I guess we do. I'll go now, seeing as you don't really need me in here at the moment. I'll get showered and dressed and I'll meet you in the kitchen, Virg, in what? Half an hour? Three quarters?"

Virgil looked at his watch and sighed. "Make it an hour," he replied. "I want to have a word with Brains first and you know I like to take my time in the shower. If you beat me to the kitchen you can make a start on the sandwiches. I'll join you soon enough."

'Monster munchies' were a firm favourite of the boys' after a rescue. Grandma and Kyrano would traditionally load the table up with plates and bowls full of chopped vegetables, cold meats, chips, pickles and spreads and then knew to keep well out of the way and let the returning Tracys fend for themselves.

Gordon nodded. "Will do," he agreed. "I'll see you soon."

Virgil stood and held his hand out to steady Gordon as he clambered off the desk. Gordon grinned and nodded his thanks before stepping over to the bed and gently kissing Scott's forehead. "Get well soon," he whispered. "…and I'll be back to see you in a bit."

Gordon adjusted his stance and leant over so he could give Jeff a hug. "Look after him," he murmured. "…and let me know when he wakes up. He…I need him back."

Jeff nodded and squeezed his son tightly. "We all do," he agreed. "We all do. Come back once you're clean and fed and you can sit with him again. OK?"

Gordon nodded and stood up straight. "See you later," he murmured and headed out of the door, pulling his sash off over his head as he went. Virgil stayed behind and spent a short while talking to Brains and Jeff before he too headed off into the house and the much-needed sanctuary of his shower.


	8. Chapter 8

~#~ (Chapter 8)

Virgil walked into the kitchen, stopped and looked around in confusion. Alan and Tin-Tin were sitting near one end of the table, talking quietly to one another but Gordon was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" Virgil asked. "Gordon? Where is he?"

Alan looked up and frowned. "He hasn't been in here. I thought he was with you. Dad called through and suggested that we might want to come and eat. He said that you and Gordon had gone to shower and that Scott was asleep. He told me not to worry and that he and Brains were going to sit with Scott so they could keep an eye on him."

Virgil shrugged. "That's mostly right; apart from the bit about Gordon being with me. He left before I did and was supposed to meet me here…" Virgil checked his watch and nodded. "…about five minutes ago."

Alan frowned. "It's not like him to be late for this. He always says he has to beat Scott to the table or he won't get a look in on the gherkins but…oh…"

"Yeah," Virgil murmured. "Scott's not coming. Gords knew that when he left us though and said he'd be here. I'm going to check on him."

Virgil turned to leave the room but found himself stopped by Tin-Tin's gentle hand. "I'll go, Virgil," she said softly. "You've done enough for today. Sit yourself down, start eating and I'll go and get Gordon."

Virgil hesitated for a moment and then nodded and sunk onto one of the chairs. He grabbed a plate for himself and one for Gordon and slowly started selecting himself some choice morsels of food. Tin-Tin smiled at him, blew a kiss at Alan and left the room.

~#~

Tin-Tin returned only a couple of minutes later with a soppy smile on her face. "He's asleep," she announced. "He was flat on his back, wrapped in a towel and looked for all the world like a little boy who'd just climbed out of the bath. I didn't have the heart to disturb him so I covered him up and came back here."

Virgil raised his eyebrows and set about putting a feast together on Gordon's plate. "We'll sneak it into his room if he hasn't appeared by the time we've finished in here," he explained. "He wanted to sit back in with Scott so he'll be able to take it with him as soon as he's dressed."

"How is Scott?" Tin-Tin asked. "I know we were told not to ask but we've both been so worried."

Virgil shrugged. "It's difficult to say," he replied. "He was violently sick while we were out on the rescue and, rather worryingly, made no objections to me telling him that you'd be flying One back instead of him." Alan raised an eyebrow but remained quiet in order to let Virgil continue. "He chose to go home in Two's sickbay rather than the cockpit and then spent most of the journey either puking or sleeping. Gords was with him the whole time and that's probably why he was wiped out enough to fall asleep before dinner."

Tin-Tin nodded and sat back down beside Alan who smiled at her before turning to Virgil. "He seemed perfectly fine when we left here. Do you think he knew he wasn't up to going out or what?"

"Not even Scott's that stupid," Virgil replied, shaking his head emphatically. "Dad would kick his ass and ground him if he even had the slightest inkling that Scott was anything less than 100 percent. You know that as well as I do. No, I'm certain he was fine when he left here, it's something that came on, or happened, while we were out."

Alan nodded and then shrugged and popped a cherry tomato in his mouth in place of a reply.

~#~

Virgil put a cover over Gordon's plate and crept into his brother's room. He leant over the still-sleeping Gordon and gently felt his forehead to check his temperature. Smiling when he found no sign of fever, Virgil put the plate on the bedside table where it could be easily seen and then slipped back out of the room.

He wandered away from Gordon's room and let himself into Scott's. Jeff looked up and smiled as he entered. "Welcome back, Virgil. There's been no change in here so nothing to report."

Virgil nodded and squatted down beside Scott's bed. "That's good…I guess. It's giving the IV a chance to do its job and he's not throwing up either." Virgil turned around and sat down on the floor. "Gordon's asleep, by the way. It seems that he showered but didn't make it as far as getting dressed. I've checked him and left him some food but I don't know whether we'll see him again today. As I told Alan, Gords had Scotty the whole way back and it wasn't the best of journeys for either of them." Virgil shrugged and fell quiet. "I'll sit in here for a bit, if either of you have anything you need to be doing…"

Brains nodded, realising that Virgil might want to speak to Jeff alone. "I…I'll be in my lab if…ah…if you need me," he said softly as he rose to his feet. "I'll…I'll see you both soon."

Virgil watched the bespectacled genius walk away and tried to decide whether it was worth the effort of climbing off the floor and sitting in the seat that Brains had just left. He craned his head around to look at Scott, decided it wasn't worth the hassle and sat back with his back resting against his brother's bed. "There was nothing wrong with him when we left here," he murmured. "I'm certain there wasn't. He's puked on Gordon several times but Gordy seems fine, so I'm pretty much ruling out a stomach bug. That either leaves food poisoning, which makes no sense, seeing as we all eat together or A. vomit-inducing complaint."

"Or what you said earlier," Jeff murmured. "…something post-traumatic. Something that happened that Scott simply couldn't handle, for whatever reason, that's affected him so badly that he's…that he's ceased to function properly."

Virgil shuddered. "Yeah," he agreed. "I know. I'm just trying to discount that possibility as unfeasible and just…wrong. This is Scott, Dad. He's been through war, he's been shot down, interrogated, he…"

Virgil found himself wrapped in his father's arms and allowed himself a moment of comfort before gently pushing Jeff away. "I'm fine," he protested. "It's just…it's Scott, you know? It's…it's…it's just wrong."

Jeff nodded as he slid back onto his chair. "I know, Virg…and I understand." He paused and shook his head. "Even if I don't entirely know what's going on, I _do_ understand. OK?"

Virgil smiled and let out a loud exhalation of breath. "OK," he agreed. "…and I understand as well, even though I don't know what's going on either."

~#~

Virgil and Jeff spoke quietly for a while before falling into a companionable silence. Virgil remained on the floor beside the bed but rested heavily on it and eventually fell into a light doze.

He was rudely awoken by a panic-driven Scott's frantic yell for Gordon. Scott had woken quickly, looked around and locked eyes with Jeff. He had seen the worry for himself in his father's eyes but had read it as something else entirely and in his half-woken state had gone to pieces.

Virgil leapt to his feet and reached Scott before Jeff managed to. He wrapped his arms around his eldest brother and tried to comfort him. "Gordon's fine," he murmured. "He's just tired, that's all. He got you settled in here and fell asleep in his room." Virgil realised that Scott was shaking in his arms and hugged him tightly. "He's OK, Scotty. Please believe me."

"Get him," Scott hissed against his brother's chest. "Virg, please. Get him for me."

Virgil looked around in time to see Jeff heading out of the door. "Dad's gone for him," he said softly. "They'll be back before you know it and you'll see for yourself that he's fine. OK?"

Scott nodded against him and shuddered again. "Sorry," he murmured. "Need…just need to know he's safe."

"He is," Virgil tucked Scott's head beneath his chin and rocked him from side to side. "…and you'll see that for yourself in a minute. Just hang on, Scotty."

~#~

Gordon, still wrapped in his towel, barrelled into the room and headed straight for the bed. Jeff followed him at a more sedate pace and remained near the door for a couple of minutes before slipping away to find Brains.

Gordon sat on the bed beside Virgil and patted Scott's back. "Scott," he said softly. "I'm here. What's up?"

Virgil just managed to get his chin out of the way in time as Scott pulled himself out of his arms and made a grab for Gordon. Gordon instinctively wrapped his arms around his brother and sunk against him as he found himself pulled into a near strangle-hold. "Hey," he whispered. "Scotty, it's OK. I don't know what's going on with you but we're back home and we're safe. We're OK. _All_ of us."

Scott nodded against his neck and buried a hand deep into Gordon's still-damp hair. Gordon flinched as the IV line grazed across his eyelid and then nodded his appreciation when Virgil untangled and rerouted the tubing so it hung down behind him. "Hey," he whispered again. "C'mon, Scott, don't fret. Whatever's going on, we'll work through it together, right?"

Scott remained silent so Gordon jiggled him slightly. "Right? Answer me you great lump."

This brought a snort from both Scott and Virgil and eventually the elder brother nodded. "That's better," Gordon chuckled. "You were so slow to answer that I was beginning to think you'd fallen asleep." Scott shook his head this time which made Gordon chuckle again. "No? Really? OK, well I'm getting the idea that you're not in a talkative kind of mood so maybe we'll just sit here for a bit. Does that sound like a plan?"

Scott nodded again and visibly relaxed. Gordon raised his eyebrows at Virgil over Scott's shoulder and received a shrug in reply. "No idea," Virgil mouthed and then turned to look as Gordon motioned towards the door where Brains was hovering.

The artist climbed off the bed and slipped from the room, pulling the door closed behind him so he could talk without being overheard. He nodded at Jeff and then turned to Brains. "That's not Scott," he hissed. "I mean, it is…obviously, but…it…well…isn't."

"It is," Brains replied quietly. "But it's a side of him you're just…ah…not used to seeing. This is Scott with a-a-all his barriers down. A Scott who's in need of some…ah…some TLC while he works through whatever it is that happened to him...ah…today."

"And he's picked Gordon out of everyone to give him that care?" Virgil asked incredulously. "Apart from maybe Dad, Gordon's the most military one among us. He's also, more often than not, a complete pain the ass and is the least compassionate of anyone on the island apart from maybe Alan who's a total jerk in that respect."

Jeff stepped forwards and rested his hand on Virgil's arm. "That's enough, Virgil." He chastised his son firmly but in a quiet tone. "Scott must have his reasons for selecting Gordon over yourself. Just because you don't know what those reasons are, doesn't make them any less valid. I have every faith in Gordon's ability to manage your brother and, in time, I'm sure that Scott will explain himself to us. If he doesn't, well…" He stopped and shrugged. "…that'll be just too bad."

Virgil frowned but refrained from replying. He stepped backwards and stuck his head back through the door to check on the others. Gordon waved at him with the hand he had tucked behind Scott's back and Virgil stepped back into the corridor.

"Still quiet," he reported back. "I just realised that Gords isn't dressed though and if he was still asleep when you fetched him then I'll bet he hasn't eaten anything either."

Jeff rolled his eyes as he realised the truth in Virgil's words. "You're right," he agreed. "Clothes are easy enough but I'm not sure on the wisdom of putting food in Scott's general vicinity at the moment. He's not shown any sign of vomiting since waking up but that could change the instant he catches a whiff of Gordon's lunch. What do you reckon Brains?"

Brains sighed quietly. "I…I don't think we'll know unless we…ah…try it," he replied honestly. "Gordon needs to eat something whereas with Scott it's not currently…ah…essential due to the IV. I added a mild anti-nausea medication to the…ah…bag in a hope that it would help to settle his stomach so..." Brains paused, shrugged and thought for a moment. "I'm in favour of taking the food in to Gordon and dealing with any fallout as or when it happens."

~#~

Jeff and Virgil walked into Gordon's room and located the still-covered plate of food. Virgil collected up a complete set of clothes for his brother and the pair wandered back to Scott's room with everything.

"You OK in here, Gords?" Jeff asked as he pushed the door open.

Gordon was slumped at an awkward angle on Scott's pillows with his brother draped half over and half beside him. "Yeah," he whispered. "Can't say I'm exactly comfortably though. At least when he was asleep in the sickbay he was next to me, not on top of me. He's damn heavy when he's like this."

Virgil gently untangled Gordon from the IV line again and carefully lifted Scott so that the aquanaut could slip out from underneath him. "We brought you some clothes," he whispered as he helped Gordon to his feet. "…and your meal. It was in your room but you left in such a hurry that you didn't spot it."

Gordon's lifted the cover from his plate and growled appreciatively. "That looks good," he replied, grabbing a piece of chicken and stuffing it into his mouth. "Mmm. Man I'm starving."

"You're always starving." Jeff chuckled at his second-youngest and gently pushed the cover back over the plate. "Get dressed first," he suggested. "Before Scott wakes up and realises you're gone."

Gordon looked sadly at the plate and then looked back at Scott. "Good point," he muttered. "I'll be in the bathroom. Yell if you need me."


	9. Chapter 9

~#~ (Chapter 9)

Gordon dressed and had managed to eat almost half the food Virgil had picked out for him before Scott woke up. The aquanaut had sensibly placed himself on the bed beside his brother so that he would be the first thing that Scott saw when he woke. This had the calming effect that everyone hoped it would and Scott's second awakening in his room was heralded only by the pilot reaching out and grabbing hold of Gordon's hand.

"Hello," Gordon murmured. "How are you feeling?"

Scott rolled onto his back and took stock of himself. "Con…" he stopped and coughed dryly. "Con…" he tried again and then waved at the bottle of water on the bedside table.

Gordon grabbed the bottle, poured a tiny amount into a glass and helped Scott to sit up so he could drink. As he reached for the cup, Scott spotted the IV line running to his left hand and shook it viciously. "Leave it," Gordon admonished. "It's there for a reason and you're going to leave it alone. Now here, take a sip."

Scott downed the tiny amount of water in the glass and looked pitifully across at the bottle. "No," Gordon grinned. "Not until I have proof that it's going to stay put. I've had enough of cleaning up after you for one day, Mister. Thank you very much."

Scott frowned. "Oh," he murmured. "That did happen then? Back on Two?"

Gordon nodded sadly. "Yeah," he replied. "It did. And, according to Virgil, before then as well. A couple of times before, at least."

Scott paused and Gordon could tell he was looking back on what had happened earlier that day. The aquanaut held his breath and watched as Scott's eyes flickered back and forth several times before his face lost several shades of colour and then heaved.

Gordon grabbed his brother and held him tightly in an attempt to cut off the heaving before it turned into full blown retching. The plan worked in so far that Scott only heaved once more before burying his head in Gordon's neck. The sip of water stayed in place and after a couple of minutes, both brothers let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.

"Thank God for that," Gordon chuckled. "I didn't fancy having to get changed again. What do you think of my outfit, by the way? I don't think it's half bad seeing as how Virgil picked it out for me."

Scott rolled carefully onto his side and looked Gordon up and down. "Not bad," he agreed. "Although as long as he was picking clothes from your room and not his then it was never going to be dreadful."

Gordon chuckled again, glad that he'd apparently diverted Scott's attention away from whatever was causing his distress. "He picked out what you're wearing too; and, as far as I far as I know, he dressed you in it as well. I left you and him in here, completely IR'd up and I came back with Brains to find that you been jimmy-jamma'd and Virg'd nicked a pair of your sweatpants. It was all very strange."

Scott looked around the room to make sure that Brains was nowhere to be seen and then lifted and shook his hand with the IV in it. "Brains," he grumbled. "I take it it's him I've got him to thank for this?" He shook it again, several times over until Gordon was forced to catch it and hold it still. "Yes," he replied. "…and as I said before, it's there for a reason. I don't know what's in it but I'd say that you don't have as much of a headache as you did before."

Scott paused and left his hand resting in Gordon's. "No," he agreed. "My stomach's not so good but my head? No, that's not too bad." He looked around again and realised that it wasn't just Brains that was missing from the room; neither Jeff nor Virgil were present either. "Have you been sitting in here on your own, just waiting for me to wake up? Didn't anyone offer to stay behind and keep you company or anything?"

"Dad did," Gordon replied. "…but Grandma was upset and demanding to know what was going on so he had to leave. Virgil's in his room, avoiding Alan who's gone off somewhere with Tin-Tin, who was questioning Virg about you at dinner. John's where he always is, so he's easy, Brains should be in his lab and I have no idea about Kyrano." Gordon was ticking everyone off on his fingers as he said them and nodded happily. "Yep, that's everyone. I could have shouted any of them if I needed them but to be honest I've been sitting here peacefully picking away at my munchies. Virg got me a good selection of finger foods. There's a completely untouched sandwich if you want to risk it, otherwise I have a flask of Grandma's 'Stomach Tea' if you'd rather play it safe."

Scott pulled his hand out of Gordon's and carefully used it to push himself up the bed until his back was supported by the headboard. He patted his stomach and let out a small belch. "Stomach says I should play it safe," he chuckled. "So I'll go for the tea." He craned his neck upwards and poked at the IV bag. "Any idea how long they're intending to leave me tethered to that?"

Gordon shook his head. "No idea but that one looks like it's pretty empty so someone's going to have to do something with it sometime soon. Here," he handed Scott barely half a cup of the chamomile and mint tea. "Sip it slowly. Very slowly."

Scott smiled gently and took an exaggeratedly small sip from the cup. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "It's been years since I've had this," he said quietly. "It makes me think of Kansas and cornfields and…and…"

"Grandpa," Gordon finished with a grin. "I don't really remember a lot about him but one thing I do remember is him always smelling like that tea. Did Grandma keep him dosed him with it constantly or something?"

Scott squinted open one eye and looked across at Gordon. "He had ulcers," he replied. "Surely you knew that? They were some sort of side-effect of the medicine he was put on after his heart attack. The medication was the only thing keeping him alive and the doctors couldn't change it so they had to just treat the ulcers as best they could. This tea…" Scott gently waved the cup in front of him. "…kept him comfortable for almost fifteen years and was probably the only reason he was still around for any of us to meet him at all."

Gordon had gone very quiet while Scott was talking. He scooted further up the bed, leant against his brother and frowned. "I never knew any of that," he murmured. "How could I have not known?"

Scott lifted the IV tubing out of the way with one hand and held the other out to Gordon who slipped in beneath it. "You were only little, Gords. You probably wouldn't have understood even if someone _had_ tried to explain it. You'd barely started school when he died so I'm surprised you can remember anything about him at all. I don't suppose Alan has many real memories of him so I think you should count yourself lucky that you do."

The two brothers remained together, side by side, until Scott had drained the half-cup of tea. He sat on the bed looking quite relieved and then looked up and winced. "Do you want to shout someone who knows what's got to happen with that?" he asked, pointing at the almost-empty IV bag. "The tea's stayed down so far so hopefully they'll agree that I don't need it any more."

~#~

Gordon studied the bag for a moment before calling for Virgil who appeared almost instantly. "You're looking brighter," he announced as he walked towards them. "How does your head feel?"

"Not bad," Scott replied. "…but that," he pointed upwards, "…is just about out. Any chance it can go? I've haven't had anything solid but I've had a fair bit of tea and so far it's stayed where it's been put."

Virgil nudged Gordon's legs out of the way and sat down. He felt Scott's forehead, checked his pulse, his eyes and then his forehead again and nodded. "I'll take it out," he agreed. "…but only because you've shown a marked improvement. If you start upchucking again then I'll be putting it right back in there. Agreed?"

Scott looked from Virgil to Gordon and back again before finally nodding. "I agree. I'll be happier when it's gone and I have no intention of needing it back."

Virgil nodded and held his hand out. Scott put his taped up hand in his brother's and watched with interest as Virgil pulled out a small tube of what looked like ointment and used it to dissolve the glue holding the large sticky bandage to Scott's hand. Virgil saw him looking and grinned. "Brains' invention," he murmured. "He's had it ready for testing for some time. I think he'd have preferred you to have given him a slightly less drastic reason to try it though. You out cold on the floor is probably not what he'd have chosen for a trial run."

"It wasn't what I planned when I got out of bed this morning either," Scott grumbled. "…but thank you anyway…and Brains, wherever he is."


	10. Chapter 10

~#~ (Chapter 10)

Virgil and Gordon stood guard outside the bathroom while Scott had a wash, cleaned his teeth and then slowly dressed himself in a t-shirt and some loose-fitting cotton slacks.

"I feel like I haven't eaten in a week," he grumbled as he left the bathroom, rubbing his stomach. "I don't think I'll risk anything solid yet but I'll have some more of that tea if there's any left."

Gordon shook the flask. "You only had a bit, Scott so there's plenty left and it should still be pretty warm. Grandma promised she'd make some more if you needed it. Where do you want it?"

Scott stood by the window and looked out. "It's a bit windy for sitting outside. Let's aim for the sitting room and see who's about. I want to check on One first though. Just so I can see for myself that she got back safely."

Gordon looked at Virgil who smiled back. "She's fine, Scotty," he chuckled. "…but yes, by all means, we'll check on her on the way."

~#~

After checking on One, Virgil and Gordon dragged a visibly-flagging Scott into the sitting room and dropped him onto one of the sofas. Jeff, who was sitting at his desk, pulled his glasses off and looked across at them. "Should you be up?" he asked.

Scott scrubbed a hand through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Possibly not," he sighed. "…but I wanted to check on One. I only wanted to take a look and check she was alright but I admit that climbing the gantry to the cockpit may have been overdoing it a little."

Virgil scowled down at his brother. "Like I told you it would be when you first suggested it. You've eaten nothing, drunk very little and have been violently sick a number of times. You…" Virgil paused and waved his hand around in front of himself. "You've used up your energy reserves and you're running on empty, Scott. However tough you think you are, you're not going to be back up to speed for several days and you'll turn that into weeks if you insist on overdoing it."

Even though the tirade was in no way aimed at him, Gordon backed away from his brothers and went to stand by the picture window. He rested his head on the glass sheet, stared downwards at his beloved pool and silently listened to the goings on in the room behind him.

Jeff stepped out from around his desk and squatted on the floor in front of the sofa. "Scott," he said softly. "Listen to your brother. You may not like what he's got to say but he's got your best interests at heart. I know you don't like showing anything that could be perceived as a weakness but, Scott, it's not weak to ask for help when you literally cannot stand up on your own two feet."

Scott nodded and rested the elbow of his right arm on the arm of the sofa. He let his head sink into his hand and sighed. "I'm grounded. Aren't I?"

Jeff reached out and rested a hand on Scott's shoulder. "You know the answer to that without me having to tell you. You wouldn't let your brothers out in the condition you're in, now would you?"

Scott shook his head and let out something that sounded suspiciously like a sob. He breathed hard for a moment, bit down against his lip and used Jeff's shoulder to lever himself to his feet. "I can't do this now," he croaked. "I'm going to bed. Don't bother coming to get me if there's a call out. I can't do anything without my ship."

Virgil reached for his brother but found himself being brushed aside as Scott hurried from the room. Jeff held his hand out and grabbed Virgil's arm to stop him following. "No," he murmured. "Let him go. Whatever this is, it's really done a number on him. I think it's time we got everyone together to discuss _exactly_ what went on out there and by everyone I mean you, me, Gordon, Alan and John. I do not mean to include Scott in this for the time being. He's…Gordon, what on earth are you doing?"

Gordon had been listening in on Jeff and Virgil's conversation with his forehead still resting on the window. He had been concentrating hard on the words and the emotions they were conveying and had blocked out almost everything else. His communicator had sounded, startling him badly and he had jumped and hit his head against the glass pane in front of him. When his head hit the glass, Gordon had yelped and Jeff spotted him just as he'd stumbled backwards, cursing loudly. Gordon pressed a hand against his forehead and peered at his watch. "You'll have to have the discussion without me," he announced. "I've been summoned."

Virgil took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak before almost-immediately changing his mind, stepping back and closing his mouth with an audible click.

"Virg knows everything that I do, Dad," Gordon said softly, well aware that Virgil was only a hairs-breadth away from snapping at Scott's apparent sudden favouritism of his water-loving brother. Scott and Virgil were usually inseparable and Gordon couldn't comprehend the pain that Virgil was going through watching Scott suffer while being able to do very little to help. "I'm sorry, Dad, Virg, I've got to go."

Jeff nodded and the pair watched as Gordon hurried from the room. Jeff patted Virgil's arm and turned to face him. "Just be glad he's not trying to go through this alone," he murmured. "For all his joking and acting the fool, Gordon's got a sensible head on his shoulders and he won't let Scott do anything stupid. I only wish I knew exactly what it was that we were dealing with."

~#~

Gordon stepped quietly up to Scott's door and paused with his hand over the door controls. He took a deep breath, tapped his code into the door to open it and stepped inside. He wandered quietly though into Scott's bedroom and frowned when he saw his brother.

Scott was lying on his bed with his back towards the door. His arms were wrapped around his head in a protective manner and his face was hidden from view.

"Scott," Gordon whispered. "Are you awake?"

There was the briefest twitch from Scott's head which Gordon took to be a nod. "Are you alright?"

This time there Scott gave a definite shake of his head and attempted to curl himself into a ball. The only result of this was that his knees hit the plasterboard wall and he flopped onto his back with a groan. After a moment or two and he uncurled the arm nearest to Gordon and held it out, leaving the other one covering his face.

Gordon smiled sadly and clambered onto the bed, tucking himself under Scott's outstretched arm and snuggling against him. Scott pulled him close and sighed. "I lost the tea," he whispered despondently. "...so I'm back to square one. All I need now is the IV back and it'll be like most of today never happened." Scott finally let his other arm fall away from his face and Gordon could see he'd been crying. "God, I wish I could turn it further and make it that _all_ of today never happened. I don't like this, Gords. I don't want to be dependent or needy or…or…"

"…sick?" Gordon finished for him. "You can't help being sick, Scott. It's a natural bodily function. A nasty one, I'll give you that but it's completely natural." Scott snorted and peered at him with bloodshot eyes. "You're not being unnecessarily dependent or unreasonably needy but even if you were, I wouldn't care. I don't know what's caused all this and I'm not going to ask; just know that I'm here if you need me."

Scott sniffed loudly and rolled onto his side facing Gordon and wrapped both arms around him. To anyone looking in at that moment it would have looked as if Scott was comforting Gordon rather than the other way around but the eldest was drawing strength from his younger brother. "Stay with me," he whispered. "I'm sick, I'm grounded and I'm a mess."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere," he replied. "You've been there for me my entire life, Scott and if I can pay back even the tiniest bit of that then I will. As for being a sick, grounded mess, I have to remind you that we haven't even been home a whole day. You've puked your guts up more times than I'd like to count today, you've blacked out twice and your emotions are shot to hell. You can't expect to get over…well, _anything_ in such a short space of time, Scott so please, please give yourself a break."

Scott smiled tiredly and snuggled his face into Gordon's neck. "I don't think I'm going to have a lot of choice in that matter," he admitted. "If I try and get up at the moment I may well find myself on the floor."


	11. Chapter 11

~#~ (Chapter 11)

While Scott and Gordon were in the bedroom, the others were gathered in the sitting room. John was present via his portrait, Virgil and Alan had taken a sofa each and Jeff sat in his usual place behind his desk. He scrubbed his hands through his hair and looked up at John. "You've heard Virgil's account of what happened, can you shed any more light on the occurrences of this morning?"

"Not really," John admitted. "…and I've listened to the recordings, from the transponder in his watch, three times so far. Most of it is pretty standard stuff; talks with the local fire-fighters, ambulance crews and the like. He pulled people out of cars, talked to them, comforted them and bandaged them up and nothing abnormal happened, as far as I can make out. I then concentrated my efforts on the last section of the recording, around the time that the doctor told Virgil that Scott's problems began. He introduced himself and had a fairly long conversation with Lilly, the young woman in the car. They talked about the little boy in the back of the car; about how he was excited to be having a little brother and about how they had been out on a special mother and son day trip when the accident happened. They continued to talk after the doctor arrived and again when the three fire-fighters joined them. The doctor discovered that Lilly was bleeding heavily and this necessitated her removal from the vehicle. Scott was tasked with looking after the two-year-old while the doctor worked on the mother. It was difficult to hear what was happening for a while because the boy was very distressed but the short of it was that Lilly didn't make it. The doctor successfully delivered the baby, post-mortem by caesarean and by the time he finished, Scott was already down. He was put on a stretcher and taken back to the hospital tent in a fire truck and the doctor who had been working on Lilly stayed with him. Several people assumed he'd been pulled out of one of the cars and tried to remove him to the local hospital and that's why, Virg, he was hidden away, out of sight, when you were looking for him."

John stopped and looked between his father and his brothers. "That's all I can really tell you. Anything else will be simply repeating what Virgil's already told you. The only thing I do want to point out was that speaking about Lilly, and what happened to her, created real, physical symptoms in Scott so I'd say that she was definitely the catalyst of the problem. Why her and why now though…" John shrugged. "I just couldn't say."

Jeff ran his right hand across his face and sighed loudly. "Alan, what's the matter?"

Alan had pulled his feet onto the sofa while John was talking. His chin was resting on his knees and he was staring up at his brother with a deep frown on his face. "It's…I…um…" He shrugged hopelessly and looked at Virgil beseechingly. "I don't know how to say what I want to. However I say it, I know it's not going to come out right."

"It's no good asking Virgil for help with that, son," Jeff replied softly. "He doesn't know what you're trying to say, any more than I do." He looked across at Virgil. "Do you?"

"No," Virgil shook his head. "I don't have a clue. Al, you looked confused, baffled, a little scared and a lot worried, all rolled into one. Pick an emotion and start from there, we'll work out what you're on about, even if it doesn't completely make sense at first."

Alan frowned deeper and snapped his teeth together several times before finally lifting his head to speak. "Why…no, no, not why, how? How does something…Scott doesn't…never…shouldn't. It's not good." Alan wrapped his arms around his head. "Told you shouldn't make me talk. It's like Dad, that's all. Not right."

Virgil rolled his eyes and moved from his sofa onto Alan's. Jeff took the spot on the other side of Alan and pulled his arms down. Alan glared at him for the briefest of moments and then realised what he was doing. His features morphed back to those of total bewilderment and he huffed loudly. "I don't get it."

Jeff smiled. "Luckily I do," he replied. "Not what's going on with Scott but I do get _you_. Scott's been there your whole life. You don't remember a time without him and you can't remember him ever showing what we all know he perceives to be a weakness. To you, Scott being injured, unconscious or out of the picture is the same as having me missing, sick or injured. As much as it pains me to say it, Alan but there's no doubt in my mind that Scott's been just as much a father to you as I have and for that I am sorry."

Alan met Jeff's eyes and shook his head. He then looked away and shrugged. "It's difficult, you know? It's odd and strange and…and…I want Gordy back. I could talk to him but he's not here and…" Alan threw his hands in the air and let out a huff. "Oh, ignore me, it's been a weird day."

Jeff chuckled and patted him on the back. "It certainly has," he agreed. "It certainly has. Let's hope for a pleasant dinner followed by a quiet night and with any luck everything, including your brother, will look better in the morning."

~#~

The quiet, family dinner took place without fanfare. Tin-Tin, Brains and Kyrano joined Jeff, Grandma, Virgil and Alan at the table and afterwards Alan and Virgil snuck into Scott's room with a plate of food for Gordon.

Gordon was hungry and in desperate need of the toilet when his brothers finally wandered into the room. Scott had, once again, fallen asleep on him and due to being completely enclosed in his brother's arms Gordon had found himself unable to move anything except for his head. "Hi guys," he whispered. "Can you give me a little help here, I really need to pee."

Virgil chuckled and sat on the bed behind him. He traced both of Scott's arms and one of Gordon's and then frowned. "Please tell me he's not lying on your right arm."

"He's not lying on my right arm," Gordon replied with a grin. "It's kind of wedged between us although I'm not really sure how it got there."

Virgil nodded. "It doesn't matter," he replied. "I was just worried that I'd disturb him if I had to move him too much when I freed you. Just hang on a mo, we'll have you out soon."

~#~

Virgil gently manipulated Scott's arms and lifted him slightly to allow Gordon to slip out of his grasp. The aquanaut slid backwards off the bed and held his breath as Virgil settled Scott back down onto the covers. The pilot grumbled softly in his sleep and began rhythmically clenching and unclenching the fingers of his right hand as if searching for something he'd lost.

Virgil smiled to himself, shifted closer to Scott and linked their hands together. Scott latched onto his fingers and fell quiet. Gordon nodded approvingly and then hurried into the bathroom.

~#~

When Gordon returned he headed straight for the covered plates which Alan had placed on Scott's desk. The red-head lifted the cover of the larger one, stuck his head close to the food and hummed appreciatively. "Nice one, Grandma," he whispered. "...and thanks, you two. I'm going to enjoy this."

Grandma's meatloaf with red onion gravy had always been Gordon's favourite comfort food and Ruth had immediately set about cooking it for him when she heard that he had only managed to eat part of his 'munchies'. Alan grinned and pulled the top off the small dish which stood beside Gordon's dinner plate.

"Aw, man," Gordon groaned. "What's she trying to do to me? Meatloaf or treacle sponge pudding. How am I supposed to choose?"

Alan's grin widened. "I don't think you're supposed to choose," he replied. "You're supposed to eat both. Dad's told Grandma how you're looking after Scott and this…" He waved his hand to indicate both plates. "…is the result."

"She's excelled herself with the pudding," Virgil added quietly from his spot on the bed. "Dad had two helpings and would've had made it three if Kyrano hadn't stopped him."

Gordon chuckled. "All I'll say to that is that Kyrano's a braver man than me, coming between Dad and his treacle sponge." Gordon used the end of his spoon to scrape a sliver of treacle off the top of the pudding and put it in his mouth. "Wow."

Virgil rolled his eyes at his brother. "Eat the meatloaf first, Gords. The pudding's not going anywhere."

Gordon nodded and sat down on Scott's desk chair. He carefully manoeuvred it up to the desk and was soon tucking into his dinner.


	12. Chapter 12

~#~ (Chapter 12)

"Man, that was good," Gordon announced as he leant against the back of the chair and rubbed his stomach. "Grandma deserves a medal for the pudding and some sort of high commendation for the meatloaf. I'm totally stuffed.

Gordon spun the chair around until he was facing the bed and then grinned. "Hey, how long have you been awake?"

"Not long," Virgil answered for Scott who had his head resting on his brother's leg. "I didn't think you'd noticed. You were too busy enjoying your food."

"It deserved enjoying," Gordon replied with a grin. "How are you feeling?" He directed his question at Scott who simply shrugged in reply. "You're not sure?"

Scott shook his head in reply to this one and Virgil looked down at him in consternation. "Are you not talking?" he asked worriedly.

Scott reached up and gently squeezed his neck. "Sore throat," he whispered hoarsely. "Bottle brush. Same as earlier. Remember?"

Virgil brushed his hands through Scott's hair and sighed. "Brains put something in the IV to combat the vomiting so hopefully you should be all finished with tha…what?" Virgil caught the look that passed between Gordon and Scott. "You have stopped being sick…haven't you? I'll have to put the IV back if…"

Scott effectively ended the conversation by pushing himself away from Virgil and turning his back on the room. Virgil shrugged at Gordon and then growled at Alan who chose that moment to walk back into the room with a tray of drinks.

Alan stopped dead and looked around in confusion. "What did I miss?" he asked. "Hey, did Scott wake up? I…" Alan frowned as Scott let out a pitiful mewling sound and wrapped his arms back around his head and forced himself into a very similar position to the one that Gordon had previously found him in, several hours before. "What's the matter? Scott…I…Scott?"

Scott whimpered again and buried his head deeper into the crevice between the bed and the wall. "Go away," he cried feebly. "Go away and leave me alone." Gordon, Virgil and Alan stared at him for a moment and they all cringed when his stomach contracted and he retched violently. "GO!"

Alan turned and fled at Scott's bellow. Virgil grabbed hold of Gordon's shoulder and roughly pushed the aquanaut out of the door when it looked like he was going to refuse to move. He retained his grip on Gordon until they were out of Scott's suite of rooms and then turned him and slammed him against the wall. "Why didn't you tell me he'd thrown up again? You were so worried about feeding yourself that you conveniently forgot to tell me that our oldest brother is trying his hardest to vomit himself into a hypoglycaemic coma; is that it? Well? Answer me, damn you."

Gordon was saved from answering by the timely arrival of his father whom Alan had run to upon leaving Scott's room. "Virgil Tracy," the tone of Jeff's voice left no doubt as to just how angry he was. "This is not how I've raised you to act. Put your brother down and step away."

Virgil breathed heavily but continued to hold Gordon against the wall until Jeff rested a hand on his shoulder. "Let him go, Virgil," he requested again, quieter this time now that the initial anger had passed and Virgil had stopped tearing into Gordon with hurtful words. "Let go."

Virgil let go of Gordon by way of shoving him viciously against the wall and then turned around and kicked out at the wall which had previously been behind him. Jeff sighed as the artist then sighed and stood, slumped against the wall. The Tracy patriarch realised that everyone's emotions were running high due to the troubles that Scott was experiencing and silently thanked any deity that felt like listening that his eldest was generally the healthiest and, usually, the most stable of all five boys.

"Alan," he said softly. "You'll find your grandmother in the kitchen. I believe she's baking, go and keep her company." Alan hadn't fully approached the fracas between his brothers and had stopped a short distance down the corridor. He nodded briefly and then turned and headed off into the house.

"Gordon," Jeff continued in an even softer manner. "…are you alright?" Gordon nodded a silent reply which made Jeff smile. "You've been with Scott pretty much constantly since you left the rescue in Thunderbird 2. You're not with him now and I'd suggest that you take the opportunity to get out of the house and into the pool. It's starting to get dark, you haven't been out there at all today and I admit to being a little…unnerved by that."

Gordon nodded again and raised his eyes in the direction of Virgil's back. Jeff rested a hand on the artist's shoulder. "Your brother and I need to talk so he'll be coming with me. I'll send Kyrano to keep an eye on Scott. Go, Gords, while you have the chance."

~#~

Gordon walked a short distance down the corridor and disappeared into his room. He changed into his swimming gear and a loose, unbuttoned shirt and by the time he stepped back into the corridor, Jeff and Virgil were nowhere to be seen.

Unable to help himself, the aquanaut wandered down to Scott's room and opened the door. He stuck his head inside and was relieved to see Kyrano sitting silently in a chair by the window. "I'll be in the pool if either of you need me," he whispered. "I'd rather not leave him but…"

"Fear not, Master Gordon," Kyrano replied in his usual soft-spoken manner. "I shall care for your brother in your absence. If you wish to return here after your swim then I will neither stop you nor stand in your way."

Gordon smiled. "Thank you," he whispered. "…and I _will_ be back. It's not right having Scott like this and I'll do whatever I need to, to get him back to normal again."


	13. Chapter 13

~#~ (Chapter 13)

Gordon had been in the pool for almost half an hour when he became aware of someone watching him. He pulled up in the middle of a stroke and peered around, only to realise that he couldn't easily see further than the immediate edge of the illuminated pool because he had forgotten to switch the poolside lights on. "Damn it," he muttered and looked up towards the house where he could see someone silhouetted against the sitting room windows.

Gordon rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and realised that the silhouette belonged to Kyrano. He guessed that Scott was watching him from somewhere in the shadows of poolside so swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out.

Scott turned out to be sitting as close to the edge of the pool as it was possible to get without being visible from the house. He was sitting on the floor with his back against one of the supports which held the canopy roof up above the seating area. He had his legs pulled up in front of him with his arms wrapped tightly around them and he watched, immobile as Gordon spotted him and then approached.

"You didn't need to get up," Gordon whispered as he crouched in front of his brother. "You could've sent someone to get me. I told Kyrano I'd come if you needed me."

Scott didn't move but looked at Gordon with troubled eyes. "I woke up and you'd gone," he murmured. "I didn't know where you were or if you were alright or…or…Kyrano tried to stop me but I…I needed to know you were safe."

Gordon reached out to wrap an arm round around Scott only to remember at the last minute that he was dripping wet. He frowned and grabbed a towel, quickly wiped himself down and then sat on the floor beside Scott. He pressed himself tightly against Scott's side and rested his damp hair on his brother's shoulder. "I'm alright, Scotty," he whispered. "Just went for a swim, that's all. Dad pretty much ordered me to after you threw us all out. Virg got pretty upset at that, in case you didn't hear the yelling."

Scott looked shamefaced and averted his eyes away from Gordon's. "I know I'm hurting him," he admitted. "…but I can't help it. He's fussing and looking for invasive ways of helping and I can't handle him smothering me all the time. I just can't. It's too much."

Gordon nodded sympathetically. "I get that, Scott, really I do but you know he's only trying to help. Virg's had his doctor head screwed on since he found you in the hospital and he's not likely to take it off before he decides you're completely fixed...no matter how long that takes."

Scott looked up at the canopy above him and sniffed loudly. "Fixed?" he repeated. "I wish. This, I can't see how this is fixab..." Gordon grabbed hold of Scott and supported him when his stomach began to rebel once more.

Scott expelled a small amount of watery tea and groaned. "I can't even talk ab…oh shi…" Another mouthful of tea came up, followed by an amount of bile and Scott let out a cry and he forced himself to his knees. "Can't…Gord…talk…" He retched again and then broke down completely. "Gor…he'p…c'nt breath...Gord…he'p."

Gordon slammed his hand against Scott's watch and yelled for Brains, Virgil or anyone who was listening. He then sat, hugging Scott and waited for help to arrive.

Help, in the form of Brains, Virgil, Jeff and Kyrano, arrived less than a minute later. Gordon was frantically trying to talk Scott out of the panic attack he'd become locked in but the agitated and somewhat hysterical Scott was steadily getting worse. Brains slid to a halt beside Gordon, took stock of what was happening and yelled for the first aid kit which Virgil had just ripped off the wall by the stairs. Virgil hurled it at Brains who caught it, opened it and quickly drew out a bottle and a capped syringe. He uncapped the syringe and speared the top of the bottle, drew out a controlled amount of the bottle's contents, squirted a little of it to expel any air and then plunged the needle into the top of Scott's arm.

Scott gasped loudly and clawed at Gordon who hugged him even tighter than before. The aquanaut wrapped himself around his brother, rocked him until the sedatives took hold and then burst into tears when Scott finally fell still.

~#~

Jeff fell to his knees beside Gordon and cuddled him closely while Virgil and Brains gently prised his hands from around his brother. Kyrano helped them lift Scott onto one of the lounger chairs and then disappeared into the house, returning a short while later with a couple of thick, soft blankets. He handed one to Virgil and then helped Jeff to wrap the other around an unresisting Gordon who sagged into his father's arms as soon as he found himself enveloped in the soft, warm material.

Jeff tucked the blanket between his body and Gordon's and rocked him gently as they watched Virgil and Brains check Scott over. "Gordon, can you tell us what happened?" he asked quietly. "Last thing I knew, Scott was in bed. How did he come to be out here?"

Gordon wriggled around inside the blanket and pulled it tighter around himself. He peered at Scott's immobile form and whimpered. "He...he was looking for me," he replied in a quiet, almost childlike voice. "He didn't know where I'd gone and wanted…no, he said 'needed'…he _needed_ to check I was safe. Don't blame Kyrano, Dad 'cos Scott told me he tried to stop him but you know how he gets…Scotty I mean, you know how he gets sometimes. Kyrano followed him and kept an eye on him while he…um…kept an eye on me. I saw Kyrano before Scott, in fact. I couldn't really see Scott from the pool because he was sort of hidden in the darkness."

Jeff looked up and located Kyrano. His long-time friend and confidante had retreated to the bottom of the steps and was attentively watching the goings on until he was needed again.

"Kyrano wouldn't have let him go unless he had no other options, Gordon," Jeff murmured. "If he'd tried to physically stop Scott then one of them would have ended up getting hurt and Scott would have got away regardless." Jeff sighed and pulled Gordon in tighter against his chest. "How did Scott seem when he first came down here? I take it he wasn't so out of control the whole time and that this…attack came on suddenly?"

Gordon shrugged. "He was quiet…and I mean _really_ quiet. He was upset though and well aware that he's been hurting Virgil by pushing him away." Gordon realised that Virgil had paused what he was doing when his name had been mentioned and was staring at him as he spoke. "He knows you mean well, Virg," he continued. "…really he does, he just can't handle the feeling of being smothered at the moment. I think he was also afraid he was going to get the IV back 'cos he said something about 'invasive ways of helping'." Gordon sighed and reached out of the blanket to scratch his ear. "It was at the tail end of that discussion that everything started to go wrong. I'd said something about how Virgil would calm down once Scott was better and I think he was trying to say that he couldn't see a solution to whatever it is that's eating him. He didn't get the whole of what he was trying to say out 'cos he started puking again but he kept trying so hard to say it that he ended up unable to either talk or breathe and then he kind of flipped which is when I shouted for you guys."

Virgil continued to stare at Gordon for a moment and then moved his gaze onto Scott. "He's messed up," he whispered. "Dad, Gords, he's totally messed up. What are we going to do?"

Jeff sighed heavily. "We're going to get some professional help on standby and see how he is when he wakes up," he said decisively. "Scott will fight it every step of the way if he's forced into seeing someone but if we're careful and supportive then, with any luck, he'll choose that option for himself. I think, Gordon, that a great deal of that support may have to come from yourself. Scott seems to be particularly pro-you at the moment and, for whatever reason, he's decided that you need to be within reach at all times. I won't make out that the next few days or, God forbid, weeks are going to be easy, and you never know, we may be jumping the gun and Scott will be fine when he wakes up from whatever Brains just shot him with…" Jeff's words petered out as he looked sadly at Scott and sighed. "…although, I admit, I don't think that's very likely. Anyway, what I'm saying is that we'll do whatever it takes to get Scott back to normal and he's grounded until then, as you're both aware. Alan, Virgil and Tin-Tin can man the birds temporarily but if we need Four…" Jeff shrugged. "I guess we'll cross that bridge if we come to it."

~#~

Jeff snuggled Gordon against him and kissed his forehead. "I don't want you thinking you're grounded with your brother," he said gently. "It's just…you have a more important role to fulfil here at home."

Gordon nodded sleepily. "I understand," he replied and then tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. "Will he be out for long? Only I feel like my mind's been running at full-pelt since I got up and I could really do with some sleep. Proper sleep, not half an hour, wrapped in a towel; if you get my meaning?"

Jeff nodded and looked at Virgil. "We can keep him out indefinitely," Virgil replied. "…but obviously we don't want to keep him under any longer than necessary. He may be calm but he's not really resting while he's like that. If Brains or myself stay with him then we can safely keep him out for the night and leave him to wake up in his own time in the morning. Does that sound alright to everyone? Brains?"

Brains nodded. "I'll…ah…I'll take first watch if you like. You…you need to sleep too…ah…Virgil."

"That's true," Jeff agreed. "You need to stay at least reasonably rested in case a call comes in. Alan and Tin-Tin won't be able to affect a rescue without you."

Gordon snorted. "I'd like to watch them try. Neither would take orders from the other and they'd end up saving no-one. I don't envy you that one, Virg. Not at all."

"Where is Alan anyway?" Virgil asked and rolled his eyes at his brother. "He must have heard Gordon's shout for help."

Jeff dipped his head. "He did," he replied quietly. "…but I told him to stay with your grandmother. Neither of them needed to see Scott in the state that Gordon was reporting. They'd both have worried and fretted over what was happening and the chances are that one or both of them would have got themselves upset. They're as bad as each other, those two and they're safer in the house; in each other's company and well out of the way."

Virgil nodded and watched as Kyrano disappeared back up the stairs and into the house. "He's…ah…he's gone to fetch a stretcher," Brains explained. "We can take Scott up in the…ah…the elevator but we can't rightly take him up on the l-lounger chair…ah…can we?"

"No," Jeff replied. "You cannot. If you're taking him up that way, are we to assume that he'll be spending the night in the sickroom?"

Brains stepped forwards slightly and gently nodded his head. "Scott needs proper monitoring, Mr Tracy," he replied. "More so than we could do in his…ah…in his own room. I would also like to run him through the…ah…medical scanner. Just to rule out any sort of concealed head injury. Ideally it should have been done earlier but I was…ah…I was hoping that Scott would rally and that he would have recovered by…ah…by now."

"That's OK, Brains. I think we were all hoping that," Jeff replied softly. "…but it obviously wasn't to be. If you need to scan him, then scan him. If you need anything else then just ask. I meant it before, whatever it takes to get him back, we'll do it."

Gordon struggled feebly against Jeff's grip and then gave up and flopped back against him. "I just wanted to say that you should let him wake up in his own room," he told them. "Scott…he'd want to wake in his own room."

Virgil crouched in front of him and rested his hand on Gordon's cheek. "I know that, Little Fish and I'll make sure he's back in there way, _way_ before he's ready to wake up. Do you want me to come and tell you once he's settled in his own bed? Then you can join him like you did earlier today. That seemed to work in keeping him calm earlier so I vote for doing it again."

Gordon pressed the side of his face into Virgil's hand and nodded. "OK, that sounds like a plan. Heads up, people; Kyrano's back with the stretcher."


	14. Chapter 14

~#~ (Chapter 14)

Virgil, Brains and Kyrano transferred Scott onto the stretcher and disappeared into the house with him. Jeff coaxed Gordon to his feet, found his shoes and his shirt and then ushered him up the stairs, across the sitting room and down the corridor into his bedroom. He chuckled when Gordon simply flopped onto his bed and had to remind his tired son that he needed to replace his swimming trunks with a pair of cosy pyjama bottoms before he settled down for the night.

Gordon struggled back off the bed, grabbed the clothing that his father had picked out and wandered off into his bathroom. He returned a couple of minutes later smelling of toothpaste and wearing the comfortable, rust-coloured, cotton bottoms. "Permission to sleep now," he whined. "Please? Oh, wow, thanks."

While Gordon had been changing, Jeff had pulled the crumpled covers off his bed and remade it. He held the covers open for Gordon and then tucked them back over him as he lay down. "Sleep well," he whispered. "…and I'll see you in the morning. OK?"

Gordon mumbled a half-asleep, non-descript reply and buried himself further under the covers. Jeff smiled gently, patted his back and then turned and walked away.

~#~

Virgil managed to get Gordon up out of his own bed and into Scott's without completely waking him. The aquanaut barely acknowledged the disturbance and promptly snuggled up against Scott and fell back to sleep.

The next thing he knew was several hours later when a barely-awake Scott wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. "Morning, Scott," he whispered. "How are y…Oh, damn, it's back."

Scott cracked open an eye and followed Gordon's gaze to find he was staring at the IV which had once again been stuck to his hand with a piece of Brains' special bandage. He groaned softly and closed his eye only to open it again a second later when a cool hand landed gently on his forehead.

"Sorry," Virgil whispered. "I just wanted to check your temp now you're awake. You haven't had the best of nights so I'd imagine you're still pretty tired. Dad says if you don't feel up to joining everyone in the house then just stay in here and the same goes for you Gords. If you need anything then use your watches and if you need any_one_ then just yell. OK?"

Gordon nodded but Scott just looked vaguely at Virgil and the latter wondered just how much his brother had taken in. "You've still got a fair amount of sedative in your system, Scotty. It'll wear off during the morning but that's why you're probably feeling a bit disconnected."

Scott nodded slowly and raised his IV'd hand and shook it.

"No," Virgil replied with an eye-roll. "There is absolutely no way I'm taking that out again. You need it and it's staying put."

Scott sighed heavily and shoved the hand under the covers where he couldn't see it. "Hate this."

"I know," Virgil agreed. "…but it's not forever; it only needs to stay until you can keep food down. Once you can do that then I'll take it away. I promise."

Scott sniffed and a wrinkle appeared on his forehead as he clamped his eyes tightly closed. Virgil smiled sadly and rested his hand on his brother's head. "I'll leave you two alone for now. You know how to get me if you need me."

Scott gave Virgil no response but Gordon bade him a quiet goodbye before turning his attentions to Scott. The aquanaut noticed the tear that was slowly tracking its way down his brother's nose and wriggled out of Scott's embrace so he could wrap his arms around him instead. "He's gone," he whispered. "It's just you and me now. Let it go, Scotty, let it go."

Scott sniffed and then let out a soft whine and clung to Gordon as the tears began to fall. "Supposed to be me looking after you," he rasped. "…not the other way around. Not right."

"I know," Gordon kissed the top of Scott's head and stroked his hair. "…but as I told you yesterday, I don't mind, Scotty. I don't need looking after at the moment so you need to stop trying to worry about me and let me worry about you instead. OK?"

Scott shook his head. "It's not right."

Gordon cuffed him ever so gently on the back of his head. "Enough with the 'not rights'. At this present moment it _is_ right. Now are we OK?"

Scott shook his head again. "I guess."

"Hmm, well that was spectacularly unclear," Gordon chuckled. "So, now that we haven't got that settled, what are your plans for the day?"

Scott shrugged. "Sleep?" he asked hopefully. "…and maybe some tea."

"That sounds like a plan," Gordon agreed as Scott snuggled against him. "Although _I _am going to have to add 'eating' in there somewhere, even if you're not going to. I don't have one of those natty drippy things in my hand to keep me going and you know how 'Grouchy Gordon; comes out to play if I'm not fed regularly enough…"

Scott chuckled tiredly against his brother's chest. "Grouchy Gordon's only fun when he's pitted against Angry Alan but I don't have the energy to break them up today. Keep Grouchy for another day, Gords. I really need…"

Gordon kissed Scott's head as his brother became heavy against him. "You just sleep," he whispered. "Nothing will happen to you while I'm on watch. Sleep, Scotty, just sleep."


	15. Chapter 15

~#~ (Chapter 15)

Jeff peeked into the room a little over an hour and a half later to find Gordon lying flat on his back with Scott plastered against his bare chest. The aquanaut had managed to pull Scott's handheld computer out of the drawer in the bedside table and was watching a film with the sound switched off.

"How's it going in here?" Jeff asked softly and squatted beside the bed, level with Scott's face. "He certainly looks peaceful enough. Has he been asleep long?"

Gordon shrugged. "A while," he replied vaguely, laying the computer down on the bed beside him. "…but he's only been quiet for about five minutes 'cos he had a nightmare and it took me a good twenty minutes to get him calmed back down again. I tried to get him to tell me what he'd been dreaming about but he clammed up and I didn't want to push him too hard in case I ended up with a repeat of last night."

Jeff nodded. "I can understand that. Personally I think we would _all_ rather not have a repeat of last night. Despite what I said to Virgil, he still spent most of the night in the sickroom, although Brains did say that he'd actually slept a fair bit on the other bed in there."

Gordon nodded and then frowned. "I just realised something," he murmured. "…that Scott totally knows what it is that's affecting him but he just can't tell us. Yesterday…yesterday he said he wished he could turn back time and make it that the rest of the day had never happened. It was after you'd told him he was grounded and I'd followed him in here. He was feeling really low because of losing One and because he'd been sick again and he said that he wished yesterday had never happened."

"Gordon, that doesn't mean that he knows what's going on," Jeff replied. "That's just Scott being upset about being…well, upset."

"Yeah. I know that." Gordon rolled his eyes at his father. "…but then, last night by the pool, he was thinking about what had happened and he was really, really trying to talk about it but he just couldn't. I don't know if he'll talk or won't or…what at the moment but I'm sticking with him whatever happens. If you need Four then Tin-Tin's going to have to take her 'cos I'm not leaving him."

Jeff reached up and squeezed Gordon's muscular shoulder. "Alright, alright, don't you start getting yourself all wound up as well. I'd already thought about the possibility of letting Tin-Tin man Four but I had assumed you wouldn't have…well, that you wouldn't have approved. Four has the most unique and complicated set of parameters for her use out of all the birds, with the exception of Five and I honestly thought, even though you've spent so much time training Tin-Tin, that you wouldn't let her take her out alone."

Gordon smiled down at Scott. "Chances are that Four won't be needed anyway," he replied sadly. "It's not like she gets out that often. The Firefly, the Mole and even the Domo get more use than she does, no thanks to Troy bloody Tempest." Gordon spat out the name of his old training partner who piloted Stingray, the pride of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol fleet.

Jeff squeezed his shoulder again and then jumped when, without warning, Scott raised himself up on one arm and focussed his gaze on his brother. "I thought we'd finally got you over the Tempest envy," he said critically. "Gords, what did I tell you, months…if not years ago?"

Gordon looked away from Scott, shamefaced. "I know," he squeaked. "…but Stingray should have been mine and I've never even got to see her close-up. She should have been mine, Scott. Mine."

Scott shook his head and reached out his IV'd hand to turn Gordon's face back towards him. "But she's not," he said softly. "You don't have Stingray but you have much, much more. Yes, Four is smaller but she can get into places where Stingray could never hope to follow. You also get to use all the other cool stuff that Troy Tempest could never dream of, nor hope to play with. Yes?"

Gordon bit down on his lower lip and nodded.

"Say it," Scott ordered and smiled gently when Gordon let out his breath in a loud huff. "Say it, Gords."

Gordon rolled his eyes at Scott like he'd done to Jeff a short time before. "I, Gordon Tracy, am lucky to be alive. I am lucky to have my health, my wealth, my family and my job and if I ever choose to forget this I give my brother, Scott Tracy, permission to kick my ass until I remember it again." Gordon then crossed his arms and gave a pout which would have put some of Alan's to shame.

Scott grinned and tickled him under his chin. "Good boy," he chuckled. "Although I may have to forgo the current ass-kicking until I'm more stable on my feet. I could probably just about manage to kick you in the shins at the moment but it's not the same and I'd more than likely end up on the floor if I tried it."

Gordon chuckled and gently knocked Scott's supporting arm from underneath him so his brother collapsed down onto the bed in an ungainly heap. "Yep, you'd end up on the floor, alright…and that's before you even got as far as the shin-kicking."

Scott leant deliberately heavily against Gordon's shoulder and pinned him to the bed as he levered himself upright again. "Unfair," he grumbled. "I…oh…um…hi. Have you been there long."

Scott had finally noticed Jeff and looked bashfully down at Gordon who grinned back at him. "You could've warned me."

Gordon shook his head. "You never gave me a chance so no, I couldn't. Dad was there way before you woke up anyway...whenever that exactly was."

Scott paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "No thanks to Troy bloody Tempest," he replied. "I'm not sure what the context was but it sounded like the complaint that I always used to get."

"When was the last time I actually complained about him?" Gordon asked crossly. "I mean, seriously?"

"About two minutes ago." Scott and Jeff answered together and then stared at one another as Gordon fell about laughing.

After a moment, Scott shrugged and slumped against his brother. Jeff watched as an odd look passed briefly across his son's face and he shook his head. "I came to check on the pair of you," he told Scott. "…and to see if either of you needed anything. Gordon, your grandmother's putting a breakfast tray together for you. Scott, will you cope if he has it in here or do you want me to sit with you while he eats elsewhere?"

Scott rested his hand on his stomach and left it there for a moment before answering. "I reckon I'll be OK. I don't feel sick but my muscles are sure letting me know that I have been. I could do with using the bathroom, if one of you could give me a hand with this…" Scott wiggled the IV tube and looked up to where the bag was hooked on his shelf.

Gordon scrambled off the bed to get out of the way while Jeff stood up and unhooked the IV bag and then held his hand out to help Scott to his feet. Scott leant heavily against him for a moment and then straightened up, took the IV bag from him and wandered slowly into the bathroom.

Jeff watched him go and turned to Gordon with a half-frown on his face. Gordon, who had also watched Scott's slow progress across the room, met his gaze and shrugged. "I guess it means the fluids are getting around his system," he said softly. "…and he's upright and not currently puking, that's got to be good, right?"

Jeff nodded. "I think so," he replied. "It's certainly an improvement on last night, anyway. We're just going to have to play the next few days by ear and see what happens." Jeff paused and looked appraisingly at Gordon. "Do you want me to fetch you something to wear now it looks like you might be up for a while? It's one thing for Virgil to borrow Scott's clothes yesterday but they'll drown you if you try it."

Gordon ran a hand down over his abs and grinned. "That might not be a bad idea. If nothing else, it'll stop any of Grandma's daft comments if she sees me."

Jeff chuckled. "OK, I'll be back in a while. I can't guarantee to beat your grandmother and her tray though. She's pretty determined to get in here to see for herself that Scott is, at least mostly, OK."

Gordon nodded and looked towards the bathroom. "Are you going to send Virg in with a new bag as well? That one looked pretty well gone."

"I sent Virgil to bed," Jeff replied. "…so Brains will have to attend to the IV. It's only flowing slowly, just enough to keep his levels up and to keep him comfortable."

Gordon nodded again and then moved towards the bathroom door when it swished open. "You OK, Scotty?" he asked as he held an arm out for Scott to grab hold of. "Still a bit wobbly?"

Scott shrugged and let Gordon lead him back over to the bed where he sat, cross legged while his brother rehung the IV bag on the shelf above him. "Dad's sending Brains to change this," Gordon told him. "He…oh, he's gone already, has he? I suppose it falls to me to warn you that Grandma's on her way then. She's bringing my breakfast and wants to check on you."

Scott grunted and shuffled backwards until he was in a position where Gordon could pull the covers out from underneath him. He then slipped down beneath them and pulled them up to his chest. "Did Virg change me again?" he asked. "Only I'm sure I remember getting dressed but I'm wearing my PJs."

Gordon shrugged. "Don't ask me. You were dressed last night and like that this morning. I guess either Brains or Virgil must have changed you to make you more comfortable."


	16. Chapter 16

~#~ (Chapter 16)

There was a gentle tap on the door and a moment later Brains stuck his head into the room. "Hi Gordon, hi…ah…hi Scott," he said softly. "Your father asked me to come take a look at you. Gordon...ah…here he sent you these."

Brains handed Gordon a bundle of clothes and the aquanaut hurried into the bathroom to change. Scott watched him go and sighed. Brains sat down on the edge of the bed, waited for a moment and then picked up Scott's IV'd hand and examined the bandage for damage. "How…how are you feeling, Scott?" he asked gently. "Mr Tracy said you were…ah…he said you were somewhat unstable on your feet."

Scott looked away from the bathroom door and scratched the nape of his neck with his free hand. "I'm…I'm…" He stopped and growled before continuing. "I can't explain it, Brains. I feel weak from lack of food and sore from vomiting so much but I don't feel sick. I never actually felt sick yesterday until I was. I…" He turned toward the bathroom. "Gords, you OK in there?"

Gordon flicked the button to open the door and stuck his half-shaven face out into the bedroom. "I'll be out in a minute, OK?"

Scott nodded and turned back to Brains as Gordon closed the door again. "You're having problems letting Gordon out of your…ah…out of your sight, aren't you?" Brains asked quietly. "Kyrano explained how you couldn't be pacified yesterday when you woke up and couldn't…ah…find him. Is it something you'd like to…"

Scott paled slightly and swallowed down a large gulp of air. "Don't," he whispered. "Brains, don't. I can't…"

Brains held his hands up by way of an apology as Scott's stomach let out a worrying gurgle and he wrapped his arms around himself. "Do the bag and go," Scott begged. "Please, Brains. I can't…" Scott closed his eyes to stop Brains from replying and held his breath when his stomach gurgled again. "Gordon," he hissed. "Gor…DON!"

"What the hell?" The bathroom door flew open and Gordon shot across the room, onto the bed and pulled Scott into his arms. "Hey now," he whispered. "What's all this about, eh? I wasn't that long getting dressed. What happened?"

"I…I…I questioned him." Brains' quiet reply came from behind Gordon and was acknowledged by a nod of the aquanaut's head. "I…I…It was automatic…to try and pinpoint the source of the…"

"Brains," Gordon rasped. "Stop digging yourself into an even deeper hole and shut the hell up. I know you didn't mean any harm but you've caused it none-the-less. Leave the bag, I'll sort it out, just please…go."

Brains was out of Gordon's line of vision but he nodded and then scampered away. Gordon heard the door to the corridor click and breathed a sigh of relief. "He's gone," he whispered and then stopped and thought back over what had just happened. "Oh. Dad's going to kick my ass for talking to Brains like that, isn't he?"

Scott carefully sat himself upright, rubbed his stomach and groaned. "Yes," he replied. "…most likely. Thanks though. I…" Scott covered his mouth, belched and then sat completely motionless, breathing deeply through his mouth.

Gordon silently sat and rubbed Scott's back until the pilot apparently decided it was safe enough to move. "Not quite back to square one," he whispered as Scott flopped back against the comforter. "Well done."

Scott looked up at him wretchedly. "Only just," he argued. "Literally, Gords, only just."

"It's still an improvement on yesterday," Gordon pointed out. "…but it's annoying 'cos we'd done great until just then. Sure we've slept for a lot of the morning and neither of us has eaten anything but we've had some silly conversation and you've been up to use the bathroom which means you're not completely dehydrated. Oh, talking about that; let me change the bag before it runs completely dry."

Scott watched silently as Gordon stood up on the bed and carried out the much-needed maintenance on Scott's IV.

~#~

He had just finished when there was a gentle tap on the door. "Scott?" Ruth's soft voice could barely be heard through the door. "Scott? Gordon? Are you decent?"

Gordon grinned and jumped to his feet before stopping and looking at Scott. The pilot nodded to his brother. "She'll be fine. Now go and let her in before Dad ends up having to buy me a new door."

Gordon scurried across the room and slid the door open with a flourish. He paused just long enough to check that Ruth wasn't holding the breakfast tray and then lifted the old woman off her feet and spun her around. "Whatever did you think we'd be up to in here that would make us indecent?" he asked. "I'll have you know that I got dressed especially for your visit this morning and I shaved as well. Look."

Gordon put Ruth down in front of him and held his chin out for examination. Ruth stroked one of his cheeks and then sniffed and wrinkled up her nose. "That's lovely, dear," she said. "…but why do you smell like your brother?"

Scott, who was watching the pair from his spot on the bed, chuckled loudly at the put-upon expression that appeared on Gordon's face. "Because, Grandma," he replied. "He got dressed in my bathroom and shaved using all of my stuff. I'll warn you, before you try to hug me, that I haven't done the same."

"In either respect." Gordon whispered in Ruth's ear but spoke loud enough that Scott would definitely hear it. "He's still in his PJ's, Grandma and he's as hairy as hell."

The old woman gave an evil grin and gravitated towards the bed. "Gordon, dear, your breakfast's on the tray by the door. Bring it in, would you?"

~#~

Gordon squatted in front of the open door and grabbed a piece of hot, buttered toast from the tray. He crammed it into his mouth and rolled his eyes as the simple, home-baked flavour hit his taste buds. He reached through the door, picked up the tray and then stepped back into the room and stopped dead. "Damn it, Grandma, that's not right. Put him down."

Ruth had climbed onto the bed and had pulled Scott firmly against her breast. Her right hand was woven into his hair and the fingernails of her left hand were scraping back and forth through the coarse stubble on her eldest grandson's face.

Gordon opened his mouth to speak again but closed it with a snap when he realised that Scott's eyes were closed and that he had a comfortable, relaxed look on his face. He lifted his eyes to meet Ruth's gaze, nodded approvingly and then crept over to the desk and devoured his breakfast with gusto.

~#~

Gordon finished his breakfast and rocked himself backwards on Scott's desk chair. "Grandma, I'm going to get fat if you keep feeding me like this."

Ruth, who had been watching him eat, smiled at him. "It's the least I can do," she replied. "You're working so hard to keep your brother comfortable that you deserve a treat or two."

"You're not doing bad with him yourself." Gordon nodded towards Scott who was snoring gently due to the angle that Ruth was holding his head. "Apart from sort of…um…resting on Virgil, he hasn't let anyone but me comfort him like that."

Ruth smiled sweetly. "Your grandfather always used to love having his beard played with. It would soothe him after a long, hard day or if he was upset or uncomfortable. Your father's facial hair doesn't grow thick enough for it to have the same effect on him but this one…he's got his grandfather's chin alright, in more ways than one. I just knew it'd have the same effect on him that it had on my Grant."

Gordon grinned. "You make it sound like you've been waiting for the opportunity to get your hands on him for years."

"More years that I'd care to count," Ruth admitted. "I knew, from the moment I first saw him at the hospital, that he was something special. That he'd take after his grandfather and that, ultimately, he would be the one who would hold the family together." Ruth sighed. "How I knew that, all those years ago, I just couldn't tell you…just like I couldn't tell you how many times I've lain in bed and cried, wishing that I'd been wrong. To see that boy, at just eleven years of age, try to take on the responsibilities and worries of a woman three times his age…" Ruth looked down at Scott and shook her head. "No matter how much support your father and I gave him; no matter how much we tried to persuade him to go out or to play with his friends and to leave you all to us…he just wouldn't, or couldn't or…" The old woman shrugged and smiled tearfully at Gordon who quietly crossed the room, slipped onto the bed and forced his way under one of her arms.

He wrapped himself around both her and Scott and sighed. "Don't cry, Grandma. It's all part of what made him the man he is today. Sure, his childhood died with Mama but he's also the only one who got to have a proper childhood with her. I'm sure that's part of why he tried to take us on…so he could…well, 'be' her for us. Does that even _make_ any sense? He's the one who knew her the best because he had the longest with her. Sure, John's a close second in that respect but he was so traumatised when Mama went that he was no help to anyone…and certainly not to Scott."

Ruth dug the fingers of her right hand deep into Gordon's hair, just above the nape of his neck. She scratched him gently and smiled when the aquanaut let out what could only be described as a purr.

"God that's gooood," Gordon groaned. "…not conducive to staying awake though. I'm fed, comfortable and warm and may well drop off if you keep that up."

Ruth paused and then grinned when Gordon immediately let out a quiet, grumbling complaint. She restarted the gentle massage on the back of his head and after just a few minutes had two sleeping grandsons pressed tightly against her.


	17. Chapter 17

~#~ (Chapter 17)

Jeff wandered into the room almost half an hour after Gordon had fallen asleep. He walked up to the bed and shook his head gently at the sight of his mother and his eldest and second-youngest sons lying fast asleep and tangled together.

He quietly picked up the chair from beside the bed and moved it to the end so he could see all three family members properly. He then selected a book from one of Scott's shelves and sat in the chair to watch over the sleepers.

~#~

After a while, Jeff peered over the edge of the book and found his mother watching him. He smiled at her for a moment and then cast his gaze over Scott and Gordon. "They're still well away," he whispered. "Whatever did you do to them?"

"Good food, a little conversation and a tried and tested form of massage," Ruth replied with a smile. "I only meant to distract Scott while Gordon was eating but then he joined in and…well…you can see the result for yourself."

"I certainly can," Jeff agreed. "How did they seem before they dropped off? I intercepted a rather upset Brains on his way out of here. He wouldn't really tell me what had happened but I rather got the impression that something had happened between him and these two when I sent him in here earlier."

Ruth frowned. "There was an odd tension in the air when I came in. Gordon was trying to diffuse it in his normal Gordonish way but, come to think of it, Scott didn't look at all comfortable. He was sort of…um…scrunched up, as if his stomach had been hurting him again."

"Damn," Jeff cursed. "I'd hoped, for Scott's sake, that he might be past that soon. He got up and used the bathroom when I was in here earlier but he was shaky and weak because he hadn't eaten anything."

Ruth hummed gently. "He seemed quite cheerful in himself," she pointed out. "He was sitting up and talking and everything; he just didn't look entirely comfortable."

Jeff nodded. "We don't know that he's been sick again. Whatever happened between him, Brains and Gordon could have just upset him. Brains did mention that he'd tried to get Scott to talk and we know how well that went down yesterday…"

Jeff had searched out his mother the previous evening, after he'd put Gordon to bed and paid a visit to the sickroom to check on Scott. The pair had talked for several hours before finally splitting off into their rooms to sleep so both were totally clued up on what had happened and what the other was thinking.

"Scott's strong," Ruth whispered. "…and together, we'll get him through this. It'll all work out, Jefferson. You mark my words."

~#~

Several hours later, Scott woke up to find himself, once again, plastered against his brother. "Grandma had to go," Gordon murmured as Scott sat up and looked at him in confusion. "Something about older, weaker bladders needing emptying more often than stronger, younger ones."

Scott frowned. "What?"

"She needed to pee," Gordon explained with a grin. "Dad was here too and helped me move you so she could get up. The battery's nearly dead on this thing, by the way." He held up Scott's portable computer and jiggled it. "I can't decide which one's going to run out first, my film or the power. Where've you stashed the plug for it?"

Scott reached out and flipped the computer over to see which one Gordon had borrowed and then pointed across the room. "It fell down the back of the desk a couple of weeks back," he replied. "…and I haven't had the chance to fish it out yet. Feel free if you want to retrieve it at some point."

Gordon nodded. "I'll get it later," he groaned, switching the film off and stretching his arms above his head until his back popped. "How are you feeling? Grandma sent a flask of tea, if you feel up to it."

"I'm not hungry but I'll give it a go," Scott replied, rubbed his stomach. "I'm never going to get rid of that thing if I don't." He pointed up to the shelf where the IV bag hung.

Gordon swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up so he could safely pour the drink. He tipped a small amount into the cup, sniffed it and then addressed it firmly. "You are to stay where you're put. You hear me? I do not. Want. To see. You. Again." Each section of the jerkily worded order was accompanied by a finger being stabbed viciously towards the cup.

Scott watched his brother with a bemused expression on his face. "I don't think it's listening, Gords," he murmured. "...but I hope it takes heed of what you're saying, none the less. Hand it over."

Gordon waited for Scott to sit up properly and then passed the cup to his brother. As an afterthought he moved back to the bedside table and peered into the flask. "Grandma obviously wasn't feeling altogether hopeful," he murmured. "'Cos she's only sent half a flask."

Scott chuckled, blew across the top of the cup and took a sip of the warm liquid. He closed his eyes, rested his head against the headboard and sat, nursing the cup for several minutes. Gordon breathed a sigh of relief when the tea stayed put and Scott, over the next twenty minutes, drained the cup. "So far so good," he murmured when Scott handed him the empty cup back. "How do you feel?"

Scott held up a hand and rocked it from side to side. "That good, eh?" Gordon chuckled. "Well you just stay put for now. I'm going to find that power supply and you can watch the end of the film with me while the tea settles in."

Scott held out his hand again and wiggled his fingers. Gordon gripped the hand and found himself pulled forwards into a hug. "Thanks, Gords."

~#~

Gordon returned the hug for a moment and then clambered off the bed and went in search of the elusive power supply. Scott drowsily watched his brother rummage around behind the desk and chuckled when Gordon let out a triumphant 'ah ha' upon finding the particular wire he was searching for.

"Well done," he murmured. "Plug it in over here, I'm pretty sure there's a spare socket behind the clock."

Gordon nodded and found the socket in question. He plugged the power supply into the computer and then into the wall and sat beside Scott who immediately wrapped an arm around him. "OK?" he asked quietly. "Tea still comfortable?"

Scott nodded and then frowned up at the IV bag. "I'd like to know exactly what was in that," he grumbled. "'Cos I reckon they've snuck some sort of doping agent in there along with the fluids. I can hardly keep my eyes open."

Gordon smiled sadly and rested his head against Scott's. "I wouldn't be surprised," he agreed. "Although Virg did say you'd had a bad night so maybe that's part of it as well."

Scott shrugged and nodded toward the computer. "Maybe. Hit play when you're ready but don't be surprised if I don't actually get to see a lot of it."

~#~

Scott managed about five minutes of the film before he drifted back to sleep. Gordon turned the sound down low, finished the film and then used his watch to call John for what turned out to be a long, drawn out and completely random conversation.

After signing off from John, Gordon called Virgil and asked him to pay a visit with 'the biggest cup of coffee' in the world. The coffee, which came in a flask, rather than the oversized cup that Gordon had been hoping for, was delivered along with a plate of Grandma's homemade cookies and a pile of ginger-snaps that had been baked by Kyrano. Virgil arrived with everything on a tray, along with a mug of strong, black coffee for himself and he sat and helped Gordon demolish the pile of goodies.

Gordon told his brother about Scott's suggestion that his IV had been spiked and Virgil admitted that he and Brains had added a little medication to the bag in an attempt to keep Scott calm. He promised to lower the dose in subsequent bags so that Scott would stay awake for progressively longer periods of time.

~#~

The afternoon followed much the same pattern as the morning had with Scott waking for a short while, drinking some tea and entering into a little quiet banter with Gordon. The reduced medication in the IV became apparent after the first couple of waking cycles and Scott was pleased when he was able to stay awake for several hours while Gordon ate a late supper, sitting at his desk.

~#~

The night, unfortunately, didn't progress as peacefully as most of the day had. Scott experienced several horrific nightmares, despite sharing his bed with Gordon and by the time morning rolled around, both brothers plus Jeff, who had joined them from his room beside Scott's, were thoroughly exhausted.

Virgil ambled into the room on his way to breakfast and found Gordon and Scott tangled together on the bed and Jeff asleep on the chair beside them. Careful that he didn't disturb anyone, he hung an IV bag on the shelf and attached it to Scott's hand, having disconnected it the night before in a hope that Scott might sleep better if he didn't have to worry about becoming tangled in it.

Everything went to plan and Virgil hooked Scott back up without disturbing either of his brothers. When he turned to leave, though, the artist caught his foot on one of Jeff's and would have fallen flat on his face if it wasn't for his father's lightning-fast reactions.

Jeff's eyes flew open and he reached out and grabbed Virgil's arm before he could come to harm. "Watch yourself," he murmured. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Virgil replied, righting himself and then crouching in front of his father. "…but what are you doing in here? Did you have a bad night?"

Jeff removed his hand from Virgil's arm and rubbed his neck. "You could say that, yes. Screaming nightmare type bad. It just isn't like Scott at all. He's never been like this before, not even after the Air Force got him back when he was shot down. I know he'd been thoroughly debriefed before he was brought back to us but even still…"

"I know," Virgil agreed. "I've been thinking about that too. Sure the Air Force put him through counselling or whatever but they knew what he'd been through and had people trained specifically for helping with that sort of trauma. We're in a different situation here; we know _what_ he's been through, we just don't know _why_ it's affected him so badly. I agree with you though; if you try to force him into seeing someone he's going to fight you every step of the way."

Jeff nodded. "Exactly. It's something that Scott needs to decide for himself. Now, would you mind telling me what's in the bag that you just hung on your brother? He's bound to ask when he wakes up and he won't appreciate it if 'I don't know'."

Virgil smirked. "Just fluids and a little anti-nausea medication, nothing more than that. No sedation or anything today but if he's had as bad a night as you say then he may sleep for the better part of the day anyway."

"I'd imagine Gordon would too," Jeff informed him softly. "He said he'd been up with Scott for hours before I came in here and he didn't get all that much rest after I joined them either. You know, that's another thing I don't really understand about all this…Scott's acting clingy and unnecessarily reliant on Gordon and yet if you ignore his actions and listen to his words then it's almost as if he thinks he's the one keeping Gordon safe. It makes no sense."

Virgil shrugged. "Brains said that too. That Scott's struggling to let Gordon out of his sight and that Gordon's being super-protective of him in return. I hate to say it but I think Scott's just struggling generally and that Gordon's trying his hardest to make the best out of a bad situation." Virgil shrugged again. "Really though, who knows…"


	18. Chapter 18

~#~ (Chapter 18)

Jeff napped on the chair in Scott's room until first Scott and then Gordon awoke. Gordon stretched and then rubbed at his chest and grumbled loudly when he realised that Scott's bristles had rubbed him raw in several places. He dragged his brother into the bathroom, pushed him to sit on the closed toilet seat and ordered him to shave.

Scott found himself hindered by the IV line but made a semi-decent job of his morning ablutions. With a little help from Gordon, he changed into a pair of lightweight, loose-fitting sweatpants and a t-shirt and then retreated back to bed to allow his brother to dress in peace.

~#~

Scott was starting to become antsy when Gordon reappeared and Jeff breathed a sigh of relief when the aquanaut curled himself back on the bed beside his brother without saying a word.

Ruth appeared a couple of minutes later, loaded up with a tray piled high with breakfast. She sat it on the desk and smiled. "Jeff, dear, I wasn't sure if you were planning to eat with the boys but I've brought an extra plate just in case."

Jeff nodded. "Thank you, Mother. I'll stay, as long as Scott doesn't mind. This is his room, after all."

Scott chuckled quietly. "It's your house, Dad. You're welcome to stay if you want to. Grandma, the same applies to you."

"Oh, why thank you, dear," the old woman replied. "That's mighty fine of you but I broke my fast with Kyrano, early this morning. Cooking breakfast for all of you doesn't happen in mere seconds, you know? It takes planning and a set of strategically-timed alarm clocks to get you all up and where you need to be, when you need to be there. I'll never forget that time when…"

"Mother," Jeff interrupted quickly before Ruth got too engrossed in her story. He knew that if his mother had the chance to really get into the flow of it then neither his, nor Gordon's breakfasts would be edible by the time they actually got to eat them. "Mother, did you happen to bring a flask of tea for Scott?"

Ruth knew exactly what Jeff was up to and scowled at him. "Well of course I did. Scott, dear…oh…well hasn't that just gone and spoiled all my fun…?"

Scott rubbed a hand down his newly-shaven face and grinned. "Sorry, Grandma. Gordon's baby-soft skin couldn't handle my manly stubble so it had to go. He moaned no end when he woke up but to be honest, it doesn't look all that comfortable, so I can't really say I blame him."

Gordon pulled the top of his shirt down to expose his scraped-up left collar bone. "Look, Grandma. Just look what he did to me. It looks like I've been attacked by a million little firebugs or maybe the sandpaper beasts from hell."

Ruth made a point of examining the inflamed skin and made some sympathetic clucking noises before straightening Gordon's shirt. "You'll live," she announced. "…but that'll sting the next time you throw yourself in the pool, just you mark my words."

Gordon frowned. "Gee, thanks a lot. Hand over the coffee, Dad. I'll drown my sorrows in that seeing as there's nothing stronger nearby."

Jeff stood up and poured Gordon's coffee into a mug. He weakened it sufficiently as per Gordon's preference and handed it to his son, narrowly avoiding a collision with Ruth who was passing Scott's tea to him at the same time. "Careful, Jeff," the old woman reproached her son. "You could have covered them both."

Jeff rolled his eyes as Scott and Gordon looked at one another and grinned. "Yes, Mother. Thank you for that, I'll be sure to be more careful in future. Scott, will you be alright if Gordon has his breakfast where he is? There's not really enough space for both of us to eat at the desk."

Scott sipped his tea and nodded. "I'll be OK. I don't feel even vaguely sick at the moment."

Jeff nodded and proceeded to load up a plate up with food. He handed it to Gordon and then sat down to eat his own meal. Ruth dithered around for a couple of minutes before announcing that she was going to see whether Alan had decided to get out of bed. She gave Gordon, Scott and finally Jeff, a kiss on the head and left the room.

~#~

Once his grandmother had gone, Scott unhooked the IV bag from the shelf and wandered slowly into the bathroom. Gordon and Jeff watched him go and then looked at one another.

"Despite the night the pair of you just had, he seems quite bright this morning," Jeff murmured quietly. "Mind you, we've avoided any potentially volatile subjects and haven't pressed him to say…well, anything really."

Gordon nodded. "That's true. He's probably feeling better in himself now that he hasn't chucked up in a while. I know the IV's keeping him ticking over but do you think it'd be safe to offer him at least something to eat?"

"It can't hurt," Jeff replied. "He'll soon refuse if he doesn't feel up to it. From what I heard, Virgil made it perfectly clear that the IV was staying put until such time that Scott can keep food down and that in itself should be incentive enough for him to try."

~#~

Scott wandered back in a couple of minutes later and curled up with his head resting on Gordon's hip. The aquanaut thought for a moment and then broke off a small piece of toast and held it in front of Scott's face. "Try some toast," he said softly. "Just a little, just in case."

Scott gently took the offering from his brother and studied it. "I half want you to give it the same orders that you gave yesterday's tea," he said softly. "'Cos despite the fact it looked and sounded stupid, it did actually work."

Jeff opened his mouth to ask Scott what on earth he was talking about when Gordon pointed to the toast with his fork. "If I see you again then there's going to be trouble." The red-head spoke firmly and Jeff noticed a daft-looking smile spread across Scott's face. "You got that, toast? There'll be big trouble with a capital T. Do not. Come. Back."

Scott snorted loudly, pushed himself into an upright position and then bit the morsel of toast in two. He chewed it slowly, swallowed and then froze in case it decided to reappear. "OK?" Gordon asked after a moment.

Scott nodded and popped the other half of the toast in his mouth. When it was gone he sighed. "I may…just may, mind but I _may_ be hungry."

Gordon let out a quiet whoop and gently elbowed his brother's arm. "Way to go, Scotty," he laughed. "I knew you could do it. Here, have another little piece for now and we'll ask Grandma to bring some fresh stuff in a bit."

Scott looked at Jeff and smiled before taking the toast which Gordon was holding towards him. He realised that the seemingly-successful morning could only be a temporary reprieve to what had upset him but he'd learnt, long before, to take whatever little victories that life offered you.

~#~

Jeff hung around long after breakfast was finished and talked about nothing in particular until it became evident that both boys were becoming tired. He packed up the breakfast tray and took it away, closing the door behind him and promising to return later in the day. Gordon got the portable computer out again and let Scott pick what he wanted to watch. The two then propped themselves up on the bed, side by side and managed almost ten minutes of the movie before falling asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

~#~ (Chapter 19)

Various people snuck in and out of the room while the brothers were sleeping. Virgil popped in to check on the IV. He took Scott's pulse and felt his forehead to check for any sign of a temperature and then, just for the hell of it, did the same to Gordon.

Jeff wandered in about half an hour after Virgil, found the pair still asleep and left again, only to return a moment or two later with Alan. The youngest Tracy boy hadn't seen his brothers since Scott had thrown everyone out of his room and Jeff had broken up the subsequent confrontation between Gordon and Virgil. He had begun to mither about why he was being kept away from Scott's room and Jeff had eventually given in and agreed to take him to see them.

The fact that both Scott and Gordon were fast asleep, early in the afternoon, wasn't lost on Alan. Despite his seemingly self-indulgent attitude, the young blonde understood that the pair needed their rest and remained silent until Jeff took him back out into the house.

"Are you alright, son?" his father asked quietly. "You're very quiet."

Alan nodded and then shrugged. "Is he definitely getting better?" he asked. "Scott, I mean. It's just…he looks…um…old."

Jeff tried to think about Scott from Alan's point of view. "Old?" he repeated. "That may be a matter of perspective, Alan because I can't really see it. I always think that the years fall off you all when you're asleep but I suppose Scott doesn't look either as rested or as rest_ful_ as he normally would. He had very little sleep last night and has eaten the sum total of a quarter of a slice of toast in the past three days so he's not going to look one hundred percent. You've just got to remember that he has, finally, managed to eat that small piece of toast. He'll hopefully follow that with something else when he wakes up and after that, well…" Jeff shrugged. "Hopefully we're over the worst of this. Whatever it is…"

Alan nodded again. "Hopefully."

~#~

Dinner for Scott consisted of steamed chicken, plain rice and chicken broth. With Gordon for company, he picked slowly at the food but only managed a small amount before he found his appetite fading away.

Feeling thoroughly dejected, Scott sat on his bed with his head bowed and his hands in his lap. Gordon pushed his own food aside and watched his brother, unsure of whether he was wanted but guessing that Scott would probably freak-out if he left. "You eat," Scott whispered softly, without looking up. "Just 'cos I can't, doesn't mean that you shouldn't. Please, Gords. Eat."

Gordon shook his head. "I'm OK. I was about done with it, anyway. Although…" Gordon lifted the cover off his dessert bowl and peeked inside. "What would you say to a bit of yoghurt? It's plain so shouldn't turn your stomach and you never know, the cultures in it might even help." Scott looked up and stared at him uncertainly. Gordon smiled gently and held out the pot and a spoon. "It'll soothe your throat too. I know you haven't said anything but it must still be a bit sore. Bottle brush and all that..?"

Scott let out the shadow of a smile and held out his hand. "OK, you win," he acknowledged. "I'll have it but only on the proviso that you have some of the other dessert, whatever it is."

Gordon nodded and tipped the bowl over until Scott could see the fresh fruit salad that sat inside. "You can have a grape or two, if you're feeling particularly adventurous but I think the rest's probably better avoided. It's all a bit…um…acidic and I think it'd be asking for trouble."

Scott nodded and pulled the top off his yoghurt. He handed it to Gordon to dump on one of the rejected plates of food and then settled against his pillows to quietly eat.

~#~

The early part of the night passed peacefully until around 11.30 when Scott suddenly grabbed Gordon and hugged him so tightly that the aquanaut was struggling to breathe.

Gordon wriggled around in his grasp and tried to free himself without causing any damage to his brother. "Scotty," he gasped. "Scotty, just loosen…wait…ah ha..."

Due to his remarkable upper body strength, Gordon had managed to free one of his arms and reached up to grab hold of Scott's chin. Firmly but gently he pulled Scott's head down, level with his own and nuzzled against him. "Come on, Scotty," he murmured. "You need to wake up. You're having a nightmare, Scott. Please wake up."

It took several minutes of gentle coaxing before Scott relaxed and his eyes fluttered open. He let out several long, gasping breaths and loosened his grip on Gordon so he could hug him in a more natural, comfortable manner.

Gordon pulled back slightly so he could look into his brother's eyes. "Welcome back," he murmured. "That sure was a doozy of a nightmare, are you alright?"

Scott's heart was hammering against his chest and he knew that Gordon would be able to feel it because of how closely pressed together they were. "No," he croaked. "No, I don't believe I am." He sniffed loudly and let out a deep, shuddering breath when Gordon pressed his cheek against his brother's in a show of silent support. "I don't…Gords…I…I can't…"

Scott's voice broke and he sniffed again. Gordon freed his arms again and wrapped them around Scott's head. "Shush," he whispered. "Shush, Scotty, don't force yourself to talk or you're going to make yourself bad again. Just shush. OK?"

Gordon still had a tight grip on Scott's head but the pilot managed to shake it anyway. He felt Gordon let out a soft sigh against his shoulder and let out a shaky breath of his own. "Not talking isn't doing me any good though, is it? I can't sleep properly, I can barely eat and I'm keeping you up at least half of every night. It's not fair, Gords and it can't go on. It just can't."

Gordon hesitated before he spoke again. "Dad's got someone on standby. If you…"

"NO!" Gordon flinched as Scott's loud exclamation resonated down past his eardrum. Scott realised what he'd done and continued in a quieter tone. "I'm not seeing a shrink. I had enough of them...before. They mess with your head and repeat what you say and…and…"

Gordon freed Scott's head enough that he could run his fingers into his brother's hair and forced Scott to look at him. "Then talk to me. Or Dad. Or Grandma or…someone. Hell, you can even talk to Alan if you think it'll do you any good."

Despite his distressed mood, Scott let out a snort when Gordon suggested that he might want to speak to Alan. "Yeah, right," he replied and then fell silent and gently pushed Gordon away. He rolled over so he was facing the wall, sighed heavily and held his hand out backwards to find Gordon again.

Gordon wasn't completely certain what Scott wanted from him but knew his brother was in desperate need of comfort, even if he couldn't admit to it. He spooned himself around Scott with his front against Scott's back and then reached out and pulled the covers up over both of them. When they were both completely covered, he gently wrapped his arm around Scott's waist and dropped a kiss on his shoulder when he felt Scott mesh their fingers together.

Scott gave a shudder, followed by a sniff and then started shaking. Gordon tightened his grip on his brother's hand but remained silent to give Scott time to work through his thoughts.

~#~

Scott sucked in a deep breath in preparation for speaking and then fell silent again. This happened several times and Gordon began to wonder if his brother was going to manage to say anything at all. He squeezed Scott's hand and rubbed his cheek against the broad, cotton-covered shoulder in front of him. "You can do it," he whispered. "Don't try to force it, we've got all night if we need it."

Scott let out a something that could have been either a snort of laughter or a sob and then sucked in another deep breath and let it out, ever so slowly, bit by tiny bit. He clutched Gordon's hand again and then, finally, began to speak.

To Gordon's ears, Scott didn't sound like himself and spoke in a voice that was so quiet and broken that it was barely audible. "How much do you remember about when Mama died?"

Gordon rocked backwards slightly as the seemingly random question hit him. "What?"

"When Mama died," Scott repeated. "How much do you remember, Gordon? Please."

Gordon frowned at Scott's back. "Not much," he replied quietly. "…and what I do remember is mostly just flashes. I remember Grandma being dressed from head to toe in black and I remember her taking me and Virgil to old Mrs Simmons'. Virgil cried 'cos he was being left and Johnny pitched a complete fit because he wanted to be left but wasn't allowed to stay with us. You weren't there but I don't know where you were."

"That was the morning of the funeral," Scott murmured. "I was with Dad at the hospital. They'd rung to say that Alan'd had some sort of episode overnight and that he'd been put back on a ventilator. He wasn't expected to live and Dad was beside himself 'cos he had the funeral to go to but at the same time he didn't want to risk Alan slipping away while he was gone. I don't know how he decided what was best but we went from the hospital to the chapel, buried Mama and then he went straight back to the hospital and we were left with Grandma and Grandpa." Scott shuddered and fell quiet for a moment. "That's not what I meant, anyway."

Gordon was lost. "It wasn't?"

"No." Scott shook his head. "It wasn't. I meant actually _when_ she died. We were in the car. You, me and Mama. Just before it happened. Do you remember anything about that?"

Gordon frowned again. "No," he replied uneasily. "Nothing at all. Look, I know I wanted you to talk but is there a reason we're talking about _this_? It's…well it's kind of a taboo subject and one I'm not completely comfortable with."

Scott raised Gordon's hand to his face and kissed it gently. "I know you're not," he murmured. "…but I've got to get through this 'cos it's killing me. I've got to explain and it _is_ relevant…

Gordon rested his head against Scott's back for a long moment. "OK," he said eventually. "OK but I don't know how much use I'm going to be to you. I can't talk about Mama 'cos I don't remember her."

Scott tucked his and Gordon's entwined hands under his chin and nodded. "I'm glad you don't remember that," he replied. "Not that you don't remember _her_ but that you don't remember _that_. The car trip…the accident…I'm glad you don't remember any of that."

Gordon wasn't sure how to respond but after Scott had been quiet for a while he gently asked "What happened?"

~#~

"We…" Scott stopped, frowned and then tried again. "Mama…" He growled at himself this time and shook his head before breathing deeply and eventually managing to get out what he wanted to say. "Dad had taken Johnny and Virg to some big arty, spacey exhibitioney…thing that NASA had laid on. Mama had decided that it'd be good for those two to spend some time with Dad without you there as a distraction and without me there as…well...'me'. I remember the pair of them going on about it non-stop for the whole of the two months beforehand and I'm pretty sure it was Mama, and not Dad, that eventually decided they should make a long weekend of it. You, me, Mama and Alan-bump went to visit one of Mama's old school friends during the day on the Saturday and it was on the way back that it happened…"


	20. Chapter 20

~#~ (Chapter 20)

Scott broke off and hugged Gordon's arm tightly. "We were on the freeway, about half way home when a truck coming the other way blew a tyre. It swung into our lane and obliterated the car in front of us before toppling over and sliding down the bank and into the ditch. Its trailer caught the front of our car as it passed us and we got flipped over into the remains of the car that the truck had wrecked. The car made a sickening crunch when it landed back on its wheels and I remember Mama crying out and then screaming for someone to help us. I was in the back with you and couldn't see what the problem was so I…I climbed into the front and looked." Scott retched violently and turned his head towards the mattress, away from Gordon and as far away from the outside world as he could get. "She…Mama…she'd been impaled. Part of the transmission or the steering or…something from the other car had punched straight through her door and had imbedded itself in her side. The angle it went in at…"

Scott shuddered and pressed himself harder against his brother. "I don't understand how it missed Alan. There must have been literally millimetres in it; if he'd been in even a slightly different position…" Scott shuddered again. "Mama knew she wasn't getting out of there alive and she knew it wasn't going to be pretty because she told me to take you and run. I didn't manage to get you or get away though because people sort of descended on us from all directions at that point. The next bit's a bit of a blur but basically someone tried to unstrap you and you went completely nuts because it wasn't somebody who you knew. You'd been quiet and tearful while Mama had been crying but you completely flipped when that man tried to get you out of your seat. Mama was fading by then but she was just with it enough to know what was happening and shouted for everyone to leave you alone. She told…ordered…begged me to look after you and then…then she was gone."

Gordon reached out and tried to turn Scott towards him but Scott held firm and refused to roll over. "No," he hissed. "I'm not finished and if I stop now…"

Gordon gave up trying to turn his brother and settled for holding him as tight as possible. "Go on," he whispered. "Keep going."

Scott sniffed wetly and rubbed his nose against the bedcovers beneath him. "An ambulance pulled up beside the car and I got shoved out of the way so that one of the crew could get in through the passenger door. There were two men shouting orders and doing something near to Mama's door and all I could see was flashing lights and cars and people. You were still screeching and no-one was paying any attention to you so I opened your door and got you out of your seat. I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to get in anyone's way so I just stood by the car passenger side rear wheel and tried to keep you quiet."

"After a little while the guy in the car yelled something and everyone started shouting and running around. Someone ran up with a stretcher, dumped it on the floor and leant into the car and the next thing I knew, Mama was being dragged out of the passenger door. I don't know if she was completely dead at that point but if she wasn't then she wasn't far off. She had a great gaping hole in her side and the blood…" Scott groaned loudly and reached down to clutch at his stomach. "There was blood everywhere. Mama was covered in it and the guy who'd been in the car with her was coated as well. They got her out of the car and laid her on the stretcher and then…then…" Scott let out a broken sob and his voice cracked. "…then they cut Alan out of her. No preparation, no anaesthetic, no…no anything; just a man, a scalpel and a whole lot of mess."

Scott paused to rub his eyes and Gordon realised that he was crying as well. He rubbed his face on Scott's t-shirt and then snuggled against him again.

"Alan was blue," Scott continued. "So blue that he was verging on purple and he was still, Gords, so, so still. The…I suppose he must have been a paramedic…he tried, very briefly, to get Al breathing but he couldn't so he ran to the ambulance with him. I watched as it screamed away with lights and sirens and everything on and when I looked back someone was covering Mama up with a sheet. I knew for certain that she was dead when they covered her face up and I think reality must have come crashing down on me 'cos I crawled back into the car. I sort of wedged myself in the far corner of the back seat, tucked you against my stomach and covered us both up completely with your blanket. I don't know if I fell asleep or shut down or what but something must have happened because I have no idea how we got out of the car or to the hospital. I don't remember either of us being checked over, even though we must have been and I don't remember either Dad or Granddad arriving." Scott reached up and scrubbed at his head, trying to rub away the headache that was forming. "The first thing I remember, after covering us both up in the car, is Dad shouting the place down. Apparently I'd fought with, and bitten, several people who had tried to take you from me and they were up for sedating my ass for the rest of time."

"You were ten," Gordon replied in disgust. "Just how much did they expect you to take?"

Scott shook his head. "They didn't know what I'd seen or why I was acting like I was. I don't think I did either and didn't remember any of it until a couple of days ago."

"The rescue," Gordon whispered. "I'm probably the only one who doesn't actually know what happened but I think I can hazard a guess, judging by what you've just told me. Do you think you should talk through it?"

Scott shrugged. "Her name was Lilly," he croaked. "…and she'd been out for a trip with her two year old son when the accident happened. He'd been excited about the baby she was carrying and she'd decided to treat him to one last day out as an only child. Their car went under the back of an eighteen wheeler and she ended up trapped with the steering wheel pressing into her baby bump. The little lad in the back was unharmed but had screamed himself to sleep by the time I got there."

Scott started gently stroking Gordon's arm. "A doctor arrived and I got the door off the car so we could see what was going on. She was still coherent and talking at that point but her legs, Gord, they were a jumbled, shredded mess and she couldn't feel them. She was there long enough to talk to the fire-fighters when they introduced themselves but started to fade while the doctor was examining her. She made me promise to look after the boy while the doctor was working on her and then she passed out. I got shoved…" Scott stopped and frowned. "You know, I've come to realise that I really _hate_ being shoved. I got shoved out of the way while everyone descended on the car so for want of something better to do, I went and got the boy. I didn't know what to do with myself so I walked back round to where the doctor was frantically trying to stop Lilly from bleeding out. If anything it was even less civilised than when Mama went…at least she'd been laid on a stretcher; Lilly had been literally dragged out of the car and onto a sheet of plastic on the ground." Scott stopped and shuddered.

"She crashed while he was working on her and one of the fire-fighters started CPR while the doctor kept tying things off even though he must have known he was fighting a losing battle. She never regained a heartbeat nor any sort of breathing pattern and eventually he gave up and called it a day. He said there was the smallest hope that baby Adam may still have been alive and he asked that the CPR be kept up while he tried to deliver him. Like Mama it was gruesome and he slit her from top to bottom…" Scott drew a line down his stomach with one of Gordon's fingers. "Another of the fire-fighters pulled her open and the doctor reached in and…well, that's pretty much all I know."

"What about the boy?" Gordon asked. "The little one, you were holding. What happened to him?"

Scott closed his eyes and thought hard. "I think I got him back into the car before I fell…" he replied. "…at least, I hope I did. I'm not completely certain."

Gordon nodded. "One of the others might know; Virgil, or maybe Johnny. I'm sure he's gone over and over everything to try and work out what happened to you. We've been worried, Scott. _Really_ worried."

"Sorry," Scott murmured. "I've been a bit preoccupied what with puking and collapsing and losing large chunks of time due to being unconscious."

Gordon chuckled quietly. "Well you got through all of that without throwing up even though you seemed to be about to at one point. I wonder how come you've managed it now when even thinking about it has sent you into paroxysms for the past few days."

"I don't know," Scott replied. "Maybe because I'm tired, maybe because I'd got to the end of my tether or maybe…maybe my head just finally made sense of everything that had been unlocked and allowed my conscious mind access to it a little at a time rather than hitting me all at once like it's been doing since…well, since you know when."

Gordon nodded. "What happens now?"

Scott shrugged. "No idea," he replied. "Let's see what happens in the morning, shall we? Dad's not going to un-ground me that easily, he's going to make me go through everything again and he's the last person I want to go through it all with. I don't know how much he knows about what happened but I guess even he doesn't know everything and I don't know if he _needs_ to know. Mama's such a touchy subject to him already; it might upset him..."

"Or it might just be what he needs to get closure on the whole thing." Gordon raised himself up over Scott and rested his chin on his brother's rib cage. "What if he doesn't know exactly what happened because either no-one knew or no-one was willing to tell him? I think I'd want to know everything, no matter how it might upset me at first. Wouldn't you?"

Scott fell into a contemplative silence and Gordon was left wondering what he was thinking.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author note: Sorry all, there was a bit of a mix-up on the chapter front yesterday. This final chapter was originally posted for a while instead of chapter 20 so most of the vital information was missing from the story (even though it did all fit together!). Please click back one chapter to read the 'real' chapter 20 before reading this one.**

**Thank you to 'Guest' who asked 'Are we going to get the details?'. I hadn't realised that the wrong chapter had been loaded before I read your review!**

~#~ (Chapter 21)

Eventually Scott let out a sigh and rolled onto his back. He paused to allow Gordon to get out of the way and then rolled further until he could wrap his arms around his brother.

Gordon snuffled softly against him. "How are you feeling now?"

Scott let out a quiet snort and rubbed his cheek against Gordon's hair. "Honestly? I'm absolutely shattered. I feel like someone's taken my head, scrambled the innards and then packed it all back in a different configuration. There's stuff in there that I didn't know I knew before and I don't know if I'm better off with it there or not. What if this happens again? What use am I going to be in the field if I could break down at any moment? What if…"

Gordon reached up and rested a finger gently across Scott's lips. "You know what I think?" he asked and then paused as Scott shook his head. "I think you worry too much and that you're tired and your emotions are way too close to the surface for you to be thinking rationally. There's no way to guarantee that this will never happen again but just think about it; in the past…um…twenty three years, have you ever come across a situation like this before? No, you haven't. You've been out of more rescues than any of us and this has never happened before because this exact set of circumstances is pretty much unique. If it doesn't happen again for another twenty three years then you won't need to worry anyway and I mean, who knows, any number of us could have one of these emotional time-bombs waiting to go off. Alan could have a deep-seated, hidden fear of…of…er…kangaroos that's going to affect him when we tend to the next bushfire in Australia. Virgil could develop a morbid fear of mushrooms which'd mean he wouldn't dare go into a forest or wood in case one jumped out and attacked him."

Scott shook his head to dislodge Gordon's finger. "You've completely lost me now, Gords and while I think that was probably the idea, why would I not worry about it the next time it happens?"

Gordon rolled his eyes at his brother. "'Cos you're not going to be still going out on rescues by the time you're fifty six. You'll have either taken over from Dad or will be helping him and that's only if we're still running by then. Whatever though, what I'm trying to say is that you won't be anywhere near the accident when it happens. Do you get me?"

Scott shuddered. "I think so but..."

"No 'buts', Scott. It's not going to happen. If something similar happens and it affects you then we'll work through it, just like we have in the last few days and I promise I'll stay with you until you're fixed again. OK?"

Scott nodded sleepily. "OK but for now…"

"I said no 'buts'," Gordon interrupted him in mock annoyance. "Don't start with the 'buts'. It's probably stupid o'clock by now and I really think we should get some sleep before Dad or Virg or…someone comes knocking."

Scott chuckled quietly and reached up to cuff Gordon gently on the back of the head. "That's what you get for interrupting me," he murmured. "…because what I was trying to say was 'but for now I think we need to sleep'." He pulled Gordon close and sighed deeply. "I don't think I've said it but thanks, Gords; thanks for everything you've done for me in the past couple of days. I know you've basically put your life on hold to stay with me and I appreciate that. I appreciate it a lot."

Scott's words were getting gradually slower and quieter and Gordon realised that his brother was slipping into sleep. He wriggled deeper against Scott's chest and sighed. "If it's helped you come back to us then it's been worth every second. Go to sleep, Scotty. I'll keep watch."

~#~

Gordon spent the next few days in Scott's room while his brother recuperated and regained his strength. The pair had a steady stream of visitors throughout each day and Scott had several long, emotional talks with Jeff, Virgil, John and Ruth.

Alan plucked up the courage to visit on the morning of the third day and found himself pulled into a tight hug by a tearful Scott. He received a very abridged and gore-free version of what had affected his brother so badly and offered to stay with him for a while so that Gordon could go for a swim.

Scott balked at the thought of being separated from Gordon and clung to him tightly. He realised that it was the next logical step in his recovery process but Gordon had spent the last week acting as his confidante, his security blanket and his teddy bear and Scott knew that going back to sleeping alone was going to be hard.

~#~

Eventually, with a lot of coaxing, Scott released his grip on Gordon and took Alan's hand instead. The pair stayed in Scott's room while Gordon went to get changed and then followed him to the pool and sat, side by side, on one of the lounger chairs as Gordon worked his way through his usual morning workout.

Scott fell asleep, leaning against his brother, almost midway through Gordon's swim. Alan carefully laid him down on the chair and then sat and studied him.

~#~

Alan was still staring at Scott when Gordon clambered out of the pool. He had seen Alan lying Scott on the chair and had guessed that the inactivity and fresh air had lulled their eldest brother off to sleep. What he couldn't understand, however, was Alan's complete lack of movement.

"Hey," he whispered as he wandered up behind Alan. "You OK?"

Alan nodded. "I'm just amazed that someone can go through so much and still be so…normal….stable…I don't know; what's the word I'm looking for?"

Gordon squatted beside Alan and rested his wet head on his shoulder. "Either of those will do," he murmured. "…but don't ask me how he does it. Dad's had a word with the counsellor on the mainland and he's happy that he doesn't need to see Scott just as long as he's talking to us. I think it helped that Dad didn't take any of it badly though. Scott had been afraid that he'd upset him when he told him what he'd seen all those years ago but I think it actually put a lot of Dad's demons to rest because he'd never known exactly what happened that day. It's ironic really, that they wouldn't tell Dad what happened 'cos they didn't think he was stable enough to cope with the details and yet a ten year old boy could successfully compartmentalise the information away well enough that no-one, including him, ever knew it was there."

Alan nodded and the pair sat together in companionable silence. Virgil joined them a couple of minutes later and a short while after that Jeff wandered past the sitting room and caught sight of them all. He went to the kitchen, asked Ruth to make up a tray of coffee and then suggested that she joined him and the boys by the pool.

~#~

Scott woke up slowly and spent several minutes listening to the comforting sound of his family talking quietly around him. He reached out and brushed his fingertips gently against Gordon's arm. Gordon turned to him, smiled and then reached out and grasped his outstretched fingers.

"Welcome back, Scotty."


End file.
